Complaints to the Financial Ombudsman soared by over 50% during the past year to top 305,000 - driven in large part by claims from professional representatives, including claims management companies.

The FOS said today that around half of its cases are now referred by professional representatives, double the percentage of the previous year.

In the 2024/25 FOS year the Ombudsman received over 50% more complaints than its previous financial year, a six year high, it said.

The independent body, which deals with consumer complaints about financial services, said it was "working closely" with the Treasury and the Financial Conduct Authority to modernise the dispute resolution system to improve complaint handling and cope with a bigger workload.

Financial complaints needing intervention by the Ombudsman were at their highest level in six years, the FOS said in its annual figures report published today.

In the last financial year (1 April 2024 – 31 March 2025), consumers lodged 305,726 complaints about financial products with the service. The last time the Financial Ombudsman received more complaints was during the PPI issue in 2018/19 (388,392).

The dispute resolution service, free for consumers, saw significant rises across most of the main product complaint areas – with some issues and products at their highest ever recorded level. This includes complaints about motor finance commission, fraud and scams and credit cards.

The service’s Annual Report and Accounts, also published today, highlights how this significant increase in demand - driven in large part by concerns around motor finance and unaffordable lending – is loading "substantial pressure" on the current redress system.

James Dipple-Johnstone, interim Chief Ombudsman at the Financial Ombudsman Service, said: “Financial services have evolved significantly since we were set up 25 years ago. New financial products, the digitalisation of services and an increase in fraud and scams mean that we now see high levels of demand and an increasing number of complex cases.

“That is why we are working closely with HM Treasury and the FCA to ensure the system – including the vital role our service plays within it – is fit for the future.”

The 2024/25 caseload is a 54% increase when compared to the 198,798 complaints the Financial Ombudsman reported it received from consumers in the previous year. Around half of these complaints were brought by professional representatives. That’s compared to the 25% brought by professional representatives during the 2023/24 financial year. This growth has mainly been focused on credit affordability and car finance complaints.

Some of the individual complaint categories have risen significantly across all sectors when compared to the previous year.

Source: FOS

In 2024/25 the Financial Ombudsman Service upheld 34% of complaints in consumers’ favour, compared to 37% in 2023/24. Around 27% of complaints brought by professional representatives were upheld. Around 37% of cases brought directly by consumers were upheld.

The Financial Ombudsman said some of its resources were also spent handling, "thousands of withdrawn and abandoned cases", mainly from professional representatives. The service recently introduced charges for professional representatives who bring more than 10 complaints a year.

The Financial Ombudsman will also maintain the £60m worth of annual reductions (excluding inflation) in case fees and annual levies into 2025/26 - frozen for a second year to keep costs lower for industry.

Overall, in 2024/25, the Financial Ombudsman resolved 227,253 complaints – an 18% increase on 2023/24 – while also reducing its stock of older cases.

Jenny Simmonds, interim chief executive at the Financial Ombudsman Service, said: “Although we resolved thousands of cases last year, we know there’s more to do which is why we are driving forward ambitious plans to transform our service. 

“We are modernising our ways of working, investing in new tools and technologies, and building flexibility into our workforce. This modernisation programme, alongside reform to the wider dispute resolution system, will create a trusted and effective financial ombudsman, which in turn enables predictability and the confidence to support a strong economy.”