The Financial Ombudsman Service has claimed that providers are being swamped with mortgage endowment complaints, and are failing to investigate them properly. They estimated that there would be around 70,000 complaints last year, but received double the number forecast. But they are predicting a downturn in the number of complaints in 2006 to 42,000, when the Financial Services Authority time bars on complaints start.
Last year, half of all endowment claims were upheld in the consumers favour by the Financial Ombudsman Service, compared to only 30% of other complaints.
Our view
The market is under extreme pressure regarding endowments. Yes some unscrupulus advisers and providers are to blame but also so is part of the general public for not reading their documents.
In addition, we suggest the FSA is at fault for creating a mass hysteria complaints culture forcing every endowment update from a provider to a client telling that if they are not happy they should complain in big red letters!