Revealed: 9,000 complaints made against UK banks every single day since the financial crisis

Embargoed: 00.01hrs Tuesday 23 December 2014

Revealed: 9,000 complaints made against UK banks every single day since the financial crisis

Since the financial crisis of 2008, UK banks have received, on average, 9,000 complaints a day, equivalent to one every ten seconds.

The figures, released by the Robin Hood Tax campaign at the end of another annus horribilis for Britain’s banks, are based on information collected by the Financial Conduct Authority.

The data shows UK banks and building societies received a total of 19.7m complaints, equivalent to almost 9,000 a day or one every ten seconds since mid-2008.

David Hillman, spokesperson for the Robin Hood Tax campaign, said:

"Far from banks clearing up their act after causing the crisis, they've continued to treat the public they should be serving with contempt."

Front-line staff have also suffered – bearing the brunt of the top brass’ reckless business model that led to a financial crisis and five scandal-ridden years since. 

In 2014 banks have skirted rules designed to limit bonuses, continued to pay out huge pay packets; announced additional provisions for PPI payouts; faced the largest fines ever meted out by the Financial Conduct Authority for foreign exchange market-rigging.

Hillman said:

“If the last five years show anything it’s that slapped wrists and fines are not enough to change the way banks treat society. A Robin Hood Tax would make banks start working for Britain – for too long it’s been the other way round.”

For more information contact:

Simon Chouffot: 07725 879 580 simon@robinhoodtax.org.uk

Jon Slater: 07876 476 403 jslater@oxfam.org.uk

Notes to editors:

UK banks report the number of complaints they receive on a six monthly basis to the FCA: http://www.fca.org.uk/firms/systems-reporting/complaints-data/aggregate-complaints-data & http://www.fca.org.uk/firms/systems-reporting/complaints-data/publication-dates-archive. The table below summarises the figures:

Aggregate complaints data

Banks and building societies

Reporting period:

Number of complaints:

2008-H2

1,082,364

2009-H1

 1,075,400

2009-H2

 2,225,458

2010-H1

 1,299,543

2010-H2

 1,275,025

2011-H1

 1,255,529

2011-H2

 1,590,467

2012-H1

 2,596,519

2012-H2

 2,267,634

2013-H1

 1,863,024

2013-H2

 1,598,018

2014-H1

 1,555,443

Total

 19,684,424

 

The total was then divided to give an average daily and per minute figure during the six year period.

The real figure is likely to be even higher since the FCA does not require complaints that are resolved by the following day to be included.

The Robin Hood Tax campaign is a coalition of 115 UK organisations including Barnardo’s, Comic Relief, Oxfam, Friends of the Earth, Stamp Out Poverty and the TUC: www.robinhoodtax.org.uk

The campaign has more than 250,000 supporters and is endorsed by over 1,000 economists and politicians from all main political parties

The campaign is calling for financial transaction taxes to help tackle poverty and climate change, at home and abroad