The number of complaints received by the Financial Ombudsman Service climbed by more than 50% in the last three months.

The FOS had 73,692 complaints about financial products submitted between July and September, up from 46,716 a year earlier.

Personal pensions remained far away the most-complained about of the investment and pension products dealt with by the Ombudsman.

There were 1,272 complaints about personal pensions in the three months, almost three times higher than the next highest complained about investment or pensions product which was stocks and shares Isas which attracted 489 complaints. Share dealing was next with 178.

Two other retirement products completed the top five most-complained about investment and pension products with Sipps (standard investments) having 166 complaints and conventional annuities attracting 133.

The investment product with the most upheld complaints was unregulated collective investment schemes (UCIS) in Sipps, with 91% of 35 complaints upheld.

Almost two thirds (65%) of 74 complaints about DB transfers (not to Sipps) were upheld, while complaints about investment platforms were the only other investment or pension product where the majority of complaints were upheld at 51%.

At the other end of the scale, only a fifth (19%) of complaints about with profits bonds were upheld. Across all products the Financial Ombudsman upheld 34% of the complaints it resolved in the second quarter of the financial year.

Investment and Pension products complained about between July and September

Source: FOS data for July to September

Fraud and scams cases reached their highest quarterly level, with consumers lodging 9,091 complaints in the three-month period, significantly higher than the 6,264 new fraud and scam cases lodged in the same period last year. In the previous quarter (April to June) there were 8,734 fraud and scams complaints. Of the latest fraud and scams figure, 4,956 were in relation to authorised push payment (APP) scams.

Abby Thomas, chief executive and chief ombudsman of the Financial Ombudsman Service, said: “It’s concerning to see yet another rise in fraud and scams cases coming to our service. People can feel embarrassed to have fallen victim to a fraud or scam and may be reluctant to report the issue, but these crimes can be complex and incredibly convincing and nobody should be afraid to come forward.”

In some of the cases seen by the Financial Ombudsman, fraudsters actively encouraged potential victims to open e-money accounts so they can then access the money as part of the scam.

Pat Hurley, ombudsman director at the Financial Ombudsman Service, said: “Scammers’ strategies are always evolving and they’re constantly looking for new ways to defraud people.”

Across all financial products investigated by the Financial Ombudsman, the most complained about were credit cards, hire purchase (motor) and current accounts. Credit cards and current accounts were both at an all-time quarterly high with 2,366 new credit card cases and 9,186 complaints about current accounts.