The number of complaints about banks is the highest in ten years. There are concerns about current accounts, credit cards and fraud.
In the year to 5 April, consumers filed more than 80,137 complaints with the Financial Ombudsman Service, a 29 percent increase on the previous year.
Poor customer service and administrative problems remain major issues for savers, according to the FOS.
The free service, which was set up to resolve disputes between consumers and financial firms, forced banks to settle 37 percent of cases in the customer’s favor.
Current accounts were the most frequently complained about product. More than 30,675 complaints were filed with the financial complaints arbitrator. That is more than 4,500 more than in the 2022/23 financial year.
Coutts, a subsidiary of NatWest, came under fire last year after closing the account of Reform UK leader Nigel Farage over his political views.
Major banks including Barclays, HSBC and Lloyds have been criticised by the financial industry regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, for failing to pass on interest rates to savers.
Meanwhile, 24,402 credit card customers raised the alarm with the FOS, with more than half criticising the banks for unaffordable or irresponsible lending.
This is a 265 percent increase from the previous year, when only 3,723 complaints were filed about this issue.
Coutts, a subsidiary of NatWest, came under fire last year after closing the account of Reform UK leader Nigel Farage over his political views.
Major banks such as Barclays, HSBC and Lloyds were criticised by the Financial Conduct Authority for not passing on interest rates to savers.
Banks are also being criticised for failing to protect their customers from fraudsters, despite complaints rising by a fifth to an all-time high of 27,312.
About half of the cases involved authorised push payment fraud, where someone is tricked into transferring money online to a scammer posing as a genuine beneficiary.
According to industry body UK Finance, a total of almost £1.2 billion was stolen by fraudsters last year, with £459.7 million of that stolen through APP fraud.
Abby Thomas, director of FOS, called the significant increase in cases “concerning”.
“It is vital that all businesses treat their customers fairly and in a timely manner,” she said.
‘If consumers feel they have not been treated fairly, they can contact our free, independent service.’