Number of UK Financial Complaints Reaches Six-Year High in Q2 2024

The UK Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) received 8,734 complaints between April and June this year, reaching the highest number since 2018.

Of the complaints, over half were related to authorization push payment (APP) scams, involving customer-approved online bank transfers.

Some victims inadvertently transferred money to scammers via debit and credit cards after coming across alleged investment opportunities on social media.

The Ombudsman favoured 44% of the complaints about scams while only 37% of other kinds of complaints were favoured.

Some of these cases met a banks' voluntary reimbursement code. Mandatory schemes for banks and payment institutions will also be introduced in the UK in October this year.

Abby Thomas, FOS chief executive and chief ombudsman, said: “Being a victim of a fraud and scam is a horrendous experience - not just financially, but emotionally too. That's why it's disappointing to see complaint levels rising to even higher levels.”

“We often hear from people embarrassed to have fallen victim to a fraud, but these crimes can be complex and incredibly convincing, and nobody should be afraid to come forward, ” she added.