LIMERICK is in the top 10 counties for financial service and pension complaints, with 158 complaints sent to the Ombudsman last year.
The Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (FSBO), Liam Sloyan, published his Overview of Complaints for 2023, detailing the work of the FSPO in resolving complaints from consumers and small businesses/organisations against financial service providers and pension providers.
Limerick residents made 158 complaints to the FSPO in 2023, an increase of 11 per cent. The county was amongst the top 10 nationwide for financial service and pension complaints.
Complaints to the FSPO rose to a record high of 6,182 in 2023, increasing 29 per cent since 2022. The number of complaints closed by the FSPO also rose significantly since 2022, by 12 per cent, with 5,184 complaints closed.
Despite a steep rise in the number of complaints received, the FSPO said that it closed many of the complaints received through dispute resolution and mediation processes and early-stage assessments and interventions, with 85 per cent of complaints being closed within 12 months of being made.
Complaints about the banking sector made up the bulk of the communications, the FSPO said, with more than six in 10 complaints being about that sector.
Commenting on the work carried out last year, Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman Liam Sloyan said that “customer service is again the conduct most complained of for the third year in a row. It is disappointing that many of the complaints received by this office continue to be of a nature that could be resolved earlier, without a need for our services.”
