Complaints about credit institutions rose by more than 10 per cent last year, according to the annual report of the Ombudsman for Credit Institutions.
The Ombudsman, Mr Gerry Murphy, attributed the increase to the Special Savings Incentive Scheme and the changeover from the pound to the euro.
The number of complaints about banks, building societies and finance houses made by customers to the Ombudsman in the year ending September 30th, 2002, was 1,181, compared to 1,067 the previous year. This represents an increase of 10.7 per cent.
In the year ending September 2002 a greater proportion of the complaints received were later settled within the internal complaints procedure of the relevant credit institution. The number of cases requiring full investigation fell by 24 per cent.
"Compared with earlier in the life of the office of the Ombudsman, internal complaints procedures have much improved," said Mr Murphy. He said credit institutions had staffed up in the area since the days when customer complaints were "often nobody's baby".
The Ombudsman is an independent arbitrator appointed to rule on disputes between credit institutions and their customers. Any compensation awards or other rulings are binding on the institution concerned.
A total of 326 cases could not be settled and reverted to the Ombudsman for a full investigation and a ruling.
In 164 cases, the complaint was upheld. Complaints were not upheld in 127 cases and 35 were settled before a ruling was made.
Disputes arising from the operation of accounts made up almost a third of all complaints. Mortgages accounted for 17 per cent, lending accounted for 14.9 per cent and investments made up 10.5 per cent of all complaints.
There were 60 complaints (5 per cent) about ATM transactions and 47 (3.9 per cent) concerning foreign exchange transactions.
The impact of the euro changeover led to a 51 per cent increase in the number of complaints made during January, while Special Savings Incentive Accounts (SSIAs) led to a jump in complaints during April, May and June.
Mr Murphy said there had been several cases where banks had failed to set up direct debits correctly for customers who wanted to contribute to an SSIA, leading to their exclusion from the scheme.
Where this occurred and the bank was ruled at fault, the Ombudsman directed that the customer be awarded the amount they were likely to have received in interest and in the form of a Government bonus under the scheme.
