Released on: May 30, 2008, 3:43 am

Press Release Author: Shaun Udal

Industry: Financial

Press Release Summary: Customers not satisfied with the services offered by finance
institutes

Press Release Body: The last financial year has been seen to be the most
dissatisfied one in all past records when it came to services and products. The
complaints about financial products have taken a jump by a good 30% last year and
this has turned out to be a record jump. This clearly reveals the growing
dissatisfaction of consumers in banks and insurers.

According to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), this sharp rise in the
complaints was attributed to the increased complaints about unauthorized overdraft
charges. Also, PPL or Payment Protection Insurance "driven largely by media and
internet campaigns" is cited to be another reason for this.

With the year which ended this March 31, 123, 089 new cases were referred to the
adjudicators and ombudsman for the resolution of the problems. The previous year
however had 94, 392 complaints which clearly shows the 30% rise in them.

Out of these complaints, the number of disputes in mortgage and banking had tripled.
Double numbers had been reached for the insurance complaints. However, a 70%
lowering in the number of mortgage endowments was also witnessed. In addition to the
complaints, the number of enquiries too hit a new high and increased by 27% on the
previous year.

The complaints about overcharging of current accounts became ten-fold and the PPL
complaints were seen to rise six-fold. The complaints received for the controversial
loan insurance in the first three months of the year were seen to be more than the
rest of the year combined. A lot of criticism has surfaced for PPL and it has been
said to be overpriced and mis-sold to people. However, travel and health
insurance-related disputes fell in the period.

The chairman of the ombudsman service, Sir Christopher Kelly says, "At this time
last year, we had expected that there was fall in the number of complaints and a
downward trend was seen. However, it went the other way and the number of complaints
received this year has hit a record high."

The complaints made by consumers about current accounts and credit cards were
adjudged in favor of the complainant. 84% success rate was seen in current account
complaints whereas 79% was seen in credit cards. All other categories however saw
the customer success rate to be below 50%.

Sir Christopher added, "The complete picture was somewhat mixed. A rise has been
seen but a slowdown in the travel and health insurance also is very welcome. This
shows that some standards have been improved when it comes to complaint-handling."

For more information on unsecured loans, bad credit loans and personal loans, visit:
http://www.firstchoiceloan.co.uk/

Web Site: http://www.firstchoiceloan.co.uk/

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