Complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service about banks and credit card companies jumped by 76 per cent at the end of 2024, figures show. 

Banking and credit services were responsible for the lion’s share of complaints made to the ombudsman, which it put down to a spike in financial scams. 

Of the 141,846 complaints made to the FOS, 109,155 were related to banking and credit, making up 77 per cent of the total complaints the Financial Ombudsman Service received in the second half of 2024.

In the same period the previous year, it received 62,139 banking and credit complaints – marking a jump of 76 per cent.

Across all sectors, complaints to the FOS surged 49 per cent in the second half of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. 

The higher levels of complaints were driven by banking fraud, credit affordability disputes and motor finance commission cases, it said. 

Don’t bank on them: Banking and credit services received the most complaints recorded by the Financial Ombudsman Service  in the second half of 2024

Which banks were most complained about? 

Vanquis Bank was the most complained about firm within the banking and credit sector, according to the figures, receiving 17,612 new complaints during the second half of 2024. 

In the first half of 2024 Vanquis Bank received 16,067 new cases.

Credit card provider NewDay was the next most complained-about firm, as it  received 8,345 complaints. 

Out of the household name banking giants, Barclays and Revolut were among the most complained about, alongside Monzo, HSBC, Lloyds and Santander.

Barclays received 4,301 complaints in the second half of 2024. Barclays has a huge customer base, which means it frequently features at the top of the most complained about banks. 

Revolut has 10million customers in the UK and received 3,397 new cases in the second half of 2024. 

The FOS said disputes about fraud and scams were one of the main drivers behind the jump in complaints about banking and credit firms. 

Monzo, with a similar UK customer base to Revolut, received 3,393 complaints while HSBC, which includes First Direct, and Santander received 3,276 and 2,829 complaints respectively. 

Lloyds, one of the UK’s biggest banks with 27million customers, received 2,843 banking and credit complaints.

James Dipple-Johnstone, interim chief Ombudsman at the Financial Ombudsman Service, said: ‘We’re committed to strengthening the dispute resolution system – so it works better for everyone and reflects the needs of today’s financial landscape.’

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