(FCA Complaints Data - 01 January 2018 to 30 June 2018)
Figures published today by Santander UK reveal there were 193,984 complaints received by the bank during the first half of 2018, a 5.6 per cent increase on the number reported for the second half of 2017.
A full breakdown of complaints can be seen in the following chart1:
| Number of complaints opened by volume of business | ||||||||
| Product /Service Group | Provision (at reporting period end date) | Intermediation (within the reporting period) | Number of complaints opened | Number of complaints closed | Percentage closed within 3 days | Percentage closed after 3 days but within 8 weeks | Percentage Upheld | Main cause of complaints opened |
| Banking & Credit Cards | 5.6 per 1000 accounts | N/A | 143,216 | 145,210 | 73% | 26% | 40% | Other general admin / customer service |
| Home Finance | 9.6 Per 1000 balances outstanding | N/A | 11,855 | 12,371 | 45% | 53% | 56% | Other general admin / customer service |
| Insurance & Pure Protection | 59.6 Per 1000 policies in forcé | N/A | 34,913 | 34,376 | 1% | 89% | 62% | Unclear guidance / arrangement |
| Decumulation & Pensions | N/A | N/A | 98 | 108 | 36% | 42% | 44% | Unsuitable advice |
| Investments | 4.2 per 1000 client accounts | N/A | 1,249 | 1,271 | 2% | 88% | 36% | Unsuitable advice |
Credit Related | 7.2 per 1000 loans | N/A | 2,653 | 2,722 | N/A | N/A | 48% | N/A |
Reza Attar-Zadeh, Head of Customer Experience at Santander said: “Santander continues to focus on how we can best support customers and deliver them value. Where customers aren’t satisfied with our service, we have a dedicated team in place who work to deal with problems as quickly as we can.
“We know improvements can be made and we remain unwavering in our commitment to deliver an exceptional customer experience for all of our customers.”
Santander is committed to providing customers with easy access to the right products to suit their needs, fulfilling our aim to help our customers and businesses prosper, whilst being a bank that is simple, personal and fair. Our drive to deliver for customers has recently been recognised by the Competition and Market Authorities in its customer service ranking. Santander ranked fifth overall for the bank personal current account customers would recommend to their friends and family and third for business current account customers.
- Ends -
The information contained in our press releases is intended solely for journalists and should not be used by consumers to make financial decisions.
Notes to Editors:
1 We put the complaints figures into context using ‘per 1000’ metrics so that comparisons can be made across firms of different sizes.
Helpful notes to explain the data:
- The 'Provision' metric is used when a firm is the product provider, using the total volume of accounts held as at the end of the reporting half (30/06/2018). The 'Intermediation' metric is used when a firm is only responsible for selling the product (but isn't the provider), using the volumes of sales made during the reporting half (01/01/2018 to 30/06/2018).
- For the 'General Insurance & Pure Protection' and 'Investments' product groups, while Santander UK is responsible for selling the product, we have used the provision metric to provide more meaningful context, as we did for H2 2017.
- Decumulation, life and pensions products - Santander continues to resolve complaints relating to the advice provided at point of sale for a variety of different historic group companies. Santander had stopped advising on or selling any of these products by June 2011 and they are now either owned or administered by 3rd party firms.
Santander UK is a financial services provider in the UK that offers a wide range of personal and commercial financial products and services. It has brought real competition to the UK, through its innovative products for retail customers and relationship banking model for UK SMEs. At 30 June 2018, the bank has c24,200 employees. It serves around 15 million active customers, via a nationwide branch network, telephone, mobile and online banking; and 64 regional Corporate Business Centres. Santander UK is subject to the full supervision of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) in the UK. Santander UK plc customers are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) in the UK.
About Us
Banco Santander (SAN SM, STD US, BNC LN) is a leading retail and commercial bank, founded in 1857 and headquartered in Spain. It has a meaningful market share in 10 core markets in Europe and the Americas, and is the largest bank in the euro zone by market capitalization. At the end of June 2018, Banco Santander had EUR 981 billion in customer funds (deposits and mutual funds), 140 million customers, 13,500 branches and 200,000 employees. Banco Santander made attributable profit of EUR 3,752 million in the first half of 2018, an increase of 4% compared to the same period last year.
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