Complaints about home finance loans lifted 3.7% to 94,822 in the final half of last year compared to the previous six months, according to the City regulator. 

The Financial Conduct Authority adds that 67,509 complaints were upheld in the period, paying out £16m to customers. 

Grievances about home finance deals topped the list of product groups that saw a rise in complaints. 

TotallyMoney chief executive Alastair Douglas says: “At a time when it should be trying its hardest to support struggling customers, the financial services industry continues to let down the people it’s supposed to be serving. 

“Covid and the cost-of-living crisis have hammered people’s financial resilience, and they’ll be feeling the impact for years to come. Yet we continue to see insurance firms charging hard-up customers almost 40% interest just to pay monthly, while banks provide pitiful rates on savings and hike charges for borrowers. 

Vestigo Partners associate partner Tom Cuppello adds: “This complaints data and the advent of Consumer Duty are another reminder for lenders that they must begin considering what processes need to change and what investment is required to avoid regulatory consequences.” 

Overall, the watchdog says financial services firms attracted 1.87m complaints, down 1% from the first six months of last year. 

It adds that 58% of cases were upheld, paying out £259m in redress, up 10% on the first half of 2023.  

FCA points out: “Since the Payment Protection Insurance peak in 2020, overall complaints have stayed relatively constant between 1.8 million and 2 million.” 

Apart from home finance, the sectors that received the largest rises in complaints were investments up 3.4% to 61,446, and banking and credit cards up 3.2% to 874,568.