£283m in redress paid by financial services firms dealing with complaints

Financial services firms paid out £283 million in redress when dealing with complaints in the first half of this year, according to figures from the City regulator.

The redress total jumped by a fifth (20.0%) compared with £236 million paid out in the second half of 2024.

Financial services firms received 1.85 million complaints in the first half of this year, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said, with rises in gripes relating to banking and credit cards, investments and pensions.

The FCA said the overall number of complaints increased by 3.6% in the first half of 2025, compared with the second half of 2024.

Since the first half of 2021, complaints have remained relatively constant at between 1.7 million and 2.0 million, it said.

Complaints about banking and credit cards increased by 7.2% compared with the second half of 2024, with 899,861 complaints recorded in the first half of 2025.

There was also a 5.5% increase in complaints about decumulation and pensions, with 94,035 complaints recorded in the first half of this year.

Investments attracted 10.1% more complaints in the first half of this year than the previous half-year, with 58,303 complaints recorded.

Some categories saw falls in complaints, with home finance complaints falling by 6.3% to reach 78,641 in the first half of this year.

Insurance and pure protection complaints edged down by 0.2%, with 717,406 gripes recorded.

The most complained about products in the first half of 2025 were current accounts, generating 541,493 complaints in the first half of the year; motor and transport, attracting 255,192 complaints; and credit cards, with 211,903 complaints.

The percentage of complaints upheld by firms remained at around 57% between the second half of 2024 and the first half of 2025.