The lion's share of complaints was with the big banks  Customers are not only fed up with the service they receive from their banks, but are also prepared to take action against them. Figures released by the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) last week showed that there was a record number of complaints against financial services companies in the last six months of last year.  Not surprisingly, the lion's share of these gripes and grumbles was with the big banks.  In total the FOS received more than 80,000 complaints from July 1 to December 31 last year, an increase of almost 20 per cent on the previous six months.  The Lloyds Banking Group was the most complained-about company, by a wide margin, notching up 20,190 complaints. These include complaints against the various banks it owns – Lloyds TSB, Halifax and Bank of Scotland – as well as its insurance and specialist lending divisions.  A spokesman for Lloyds Banking Group says: "We take all customer complaints very seriously and are committed to working with the industry and regulators to ensure that complaints are dealt with fairly, quickly and consistently.  "With over 30 million customers, the group has the largest customer base in the UK. The vast majority are happy with the service we provide and this is reflected in the low number of complaints we receive in relation to the high number of accounts we hold."  Next in this roll of shame was Barclays, which recently announced record profits for last year. However, this didn't stop 10,892 of its customers complaining to the FOS.  Next came Royal Bank of Scotland, which owns NatWest and Direct Line insurance, with 7,098 complaints. Santander, which owns Abbey, Alliance & Leicester and Bradford & Bingley, had 4,918 complaints; HSBC received 3,881.  Emma Parker, a spokesman for the FOS, said that the ombudsman upheld the consumers' complaints in the majority of cases. In total, 54 per cent of cases were ruled in the consumers' favour, and the rest were rejected. "Historically this is still quite high," she says. "We used to find in the consumers' favour only in about a third of all cases – so clearly financial firms still have a lot to do to improve their complaints-handling procedures."  But she points out that the FOS has seen a big increase in the number of companies where the ombudsman, in the majority of cases, has ruled in the consumers' favour. "Previously there were just eight firms where we upheld more than 85 per cent of all cases. But this has risen to 14 different companies."  These include Black Horse (a lending subsidiary owned by the Lloyds Banking Group), the credit card provider MBNA Europe, the loan companies Firstplus Financial (owned by Barclays), loans.co.uk (also owned by MBNA), Ocean Finance & Mortgage, and Freedom Finance. Egg, a household name, has had 82 per cent of complaints upheld in the customers' favour.  Ms Parker said: "These figures are really not good enough and we would like to see far fewer firms with such high uphold rates."  Many of the complaints concern either the mis-selling of payment protection insurance (typically sold alongside loans or credit cards). There has also been an upturn in the number of "banking and credit" complaints. Typically, these are from borrowers who have seen rates on credit cards or loans increased, or further penalties imposed, when they are struggling with monthly payments.  It is hoped the publication of these figures will cause banks to improve their service standards. Until then, consumers can improve their chances of getting redress by complaining more effectively.  Ms Parker adds: "People can feel defensive or embarrassed about complaining. But they should remember they have a right to pursue a complaint if there is a problem with any financial product sold. Many customers with perfectly valid complaints fail to make headway because they get upset and distressed and often fail to lodge the complaint properly.''  Follow these tips to ensure that your complaint is acted on.  Be clear about the nature of your complaint and what action you require. Write out the key points and important information, such as account or policy numbers, when the account was opened, and on what date the problem occurred.  In most cases your first point of contact will be a call centre or local branch. Ask for a copy of the company's complaints procedure.  If the issue cannot be solved by a phone call, send a letter. Set out the facts logically. State when you spoke to the organisation, and to whom. Enclose photocopies – not originals – of relevant documents.  Negotiating the maze of automated telephone menus can test anybody's patience. Be courteous and polite to get the best results.  Don't deviate from the terms of your complaint. If you are being fobbed off, it's easy to slip into the "and another thing...'' argument. The more straightforward a complaint, the easier to resolve.  At every stage take a note of whom you talk to, the time and the response.  Are you looking for a refund, an apology or compensation? Tell the financial provider what you want. Be realistic, though: don't pluck a large figure from the air to be negotiated down. This is likely to make your claim look less credible.  Make it clear that if this issue is not resolved you will take the matter to the ombudsman. After eight weeks the company has to provide a "final response'' letter. If you feel this is unsatisfactory, you can take your complaint to the ombudsman.  The FOS deals with complaints about banks, building societies, mortgage companies, insurers, credit card companies, fund managers, financial advisers and pension providers (but not company pensions). This is an independent arbitration service and free for consumers; although companies pay £500 for every complaint, regardless of outcome.  The FOS will make an initial assessment over whether you have grounds for complaint. It won't accept, for example, complaints about investment performance, unless you are claiming the product was mis-sold and the risk to capital was never explained. If the complaint is accepted, it can take between six and nine months to reach a ruling. Providers can appeal initial rulings, although few do. A final ruling is binding on the providers, though not on the consumer.  If the ombudsman rejects your complaint you can appeal against the decision through the ombudsman's independent assessor (details are on the FOS website, www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk). Customers are still free to take legal action against their provider, for example through the small claims court, but this will cost money and the judge is likely to take into account the ombudsman's verdict and reasoning.
Fed up with poor financial services? You're not the only one. We explain how    to put matters right.