Laura WilesThe FOS has published the Independent Assessor’s report for the financial year 2023/24.
During this period, the FOS resolved 192,077 cases, with 1.8% of those customers lodging complaints about the service. Of the 3,401 service complaints, 522 were referred to the Independent Assessor – this represents about 15% of all service complaints, which is a reduction from the 2022/23 financial year, but broadly in line with referral percentages since 2017/18. Of these cases, 65% were judged by the Independent Assessor to be ‘unsatisfactory’. This is the same figure as last year, and features a reduction in the figures for complaints that were unsatisfactory and also resulted in recommendations from the Independent Assessor – these were 38% of the 65% total, a reduction of 2% from last year.
The report noted that Q4 2024 was unusually quiet, a trend which coincided with the FOS’s implementation of the new three tier process for service complaints, and the introduction of a Customer Complaints Team.
The taxonomy adopted by the FOS and the Independent Assessor was altered mid-year, so direct comparisons to last year’s areas for improvement are more difficult. The report notes that the new taxonomy allows more detailed reporting, but is restrictive, and is due to be reviewed by the FOS and the Independent Assessor in due course.
The top four complaint themes in this year’s report were: outcome (42%); service standards (36%); communication (15%); and discrimination (2%). The areas that customers have complained about most frequently remain the same, as ‘outcome’ incorporates the top two complaint themes from last years report: adequacy of investigation (47%) and fairness and impartiality (14%).
Communication remains a key complaint point, and the Independent Assessor highlighted it as a key area for development, especially given that it is also the area that should be easiest for the FOS to make a significant difference in.