Santander was the most complained about mortgage providers in the first half of the year, according to new figures from the Financial Ombudsman Service.
The Financial Ombudsman Service’s complaints data for 1 Janaury-30 June 2017 revealed that Santander received 736 complaints between January and the end of June.
A spokesperson from Santander said: “We’re committed to supporting all our mortgage customers and todays Financial Ombudsman Services data shows that we have fallen short of the high standards we set ourselves.
“There is always more to be done to ensure we are meeting our customer’s needs and we recognise that we have a way to go in achieving this. We are working proactively to understand where we can improve our service and hope to be in a position where customers have no reason to complain in the future.”
Lloyds was in second place with 602 mortgage complaints, followed by Barclays with 482 complaints and Royal Bank of Scotland with 347 complaints.
Nationwide was the highest placed building society on the list with 299 complaints.
A spokesperson for Nationwide said: “Nationwide’s complaints have gone up slightly from 278 to 299. However, this represents just 0.01% of our total mortgage accounts. When compared to the same period last year, the Society’s complaint levels have reduced by 31%. At the same time, the rate of complaints upheld in the customers’ favour has improved from 27% to 22%.”
| Complaints against mortgage providers 1 January – 30 June 2017 | ||
| Provider | Number of complaints | Percentage of complaints upheld |
| Santander | 736 | 26% |
| Bank of Scotland | 602 | 18% |
| Barclays | 482 | 29% |
| NatWest | 347 | 25% |
| Nationwide BS | 299 | 22% |
| HSBC | 243 | 24% |
| NRAM | 222 | 20% |
| Royal Bank of Scotland | 187 | 26% |
| Elderbridge | 100 | 29% |
| TSB Bank | 96 | 24% |
The Bank of Scotland, part of the Lloyds Banking Group, was the most complained about financial firm with 20,541 complaints.
A spokesperson from Lloyds Banking Group said: “The Financial Ombudsman is agreeing with our decisions in relation to mortgages and home finance on our Bank of Scotland brand in over 80% of cases – which is better than the industry average for this measure.
“At Lloyds Banking Group, when things go wrong, we learn from our mistakes and continue to prioritise putting things right as quickly as we can, with over seven in 10 complaints resolved within three days, excluding PPI. Where complaints are referred to the Ombudsman they agree with our decisions in the majority of cases.”
Overall, the Ombudsman took around 170,000 new cases in the first six months of this year.
This represents a 13% increase in complaints compared to the last six months of 2016 – and reflects rises in almost every product sector, including PPI and banking.
Payment Protection Insurance was once again the most complained about product.
In total the Ombudsman received 89,513 PPI complaints, up from 78,375 in the previous period.
Complaints about banking and credit increased by 12% to around from 41,484 to 46,656.
Caroline Wayman, chief ombudsman and chief executive of the Financial Ombudsman Service, said: “We’ve seen more complaints about most types of financial products in the first half of 2017.”
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Strongly advised by santander to pay my small debts first then tell them how much money i have left so they can let me under pay my monthly mortgage and let the remainder add up as unpaid arrears. I told them i have lost my job but could still afford to pay my mortgagewhich i have never missed a payment on in 4 years. Completely the opposite to what citizens advice had advised me on the phone the same day. Forced into taking a deal i didnt want and words put in my mouth suggesting family and friends would pay my mortgage even though i stated i have redundancy money to see me comfortable for 3-6 months.