FOS says half of UCIS complaints relate to SIPPs

In its latest complaints data the Financial Ombudsman Service says that nearly half of the complaints it received about unregulated collective investment schemes (UCIS) were related to SIPPs. The FOS added that UCIS complaints had its highest uphold rate in Q1 at 74%. The FOS received 193 new complaints about these schemes. The figures come despite an overall fall in the uphold rate for all complaints. The Ombudsman said that just under half of the complaints the Ombudsman saw about UCIS and non-mainstram investments in Q1 (45%) were from consumers who complained that they were given unsuitable advice about transferring their personal pension into a SIPP for the purpose of investing in a UCIS. The second most complained-about issue, which made up 43% of cases, was complaints where consumers said a SIPP provider failed to carry out proper due diligence on investments to be included in the SIPP, or on businesses involved in giving advice about investments, which often turn out to be unregulated. The Financial Ombudsman Service’s complaint uphold rate dropped to 34% in the quarter between April and June, down from 37% in the second half of 2021. The Ombudsman released its latest quarterly complaints data this week. Over the quarter it received 65,740 new enquiries which resulted in 35,029 complaints. Despite a drop in new complaints, the Ombudsman warned that it expected complaints to rise in the near future due to the cost-of-living crisis. The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) said: “Following the significant increases we saw in recent years for complaints about the impact of Covid-19 and affordability, volumes of incoming complaints have returned to more normal levels. As we look ahead, we are mindful of the new challenges that the worsening economic environment and the rising cost of living could bring. “As a result, we may see an increase in the volume of complaints. We will continue to engage with industry bodies, businesses and the FCA about their expectations for complaint volumes over the coming months.” The most commonly complained about products for the quarter were current accounts (5,460) and credit cards (3,372). The FOS said that is also continued to see a high number of complaints from victims of fraud and scams. In Q1 2022/23, scams related to fake investment opportunities made up around a third of the authorised scam complaints the Ombudsman received and is the fastest growing issue as a proportion of the complaints it sees about these scams. An authorised scam is where a person or business is tricked into sending money to a fraudster posing as a genuine account holder. Just over half of the investment scams seen by the Ombudsman this quarter involved cryptocurrencies, where consumers were promised an investment that did not materialise, or were persuaded to open a cryptocurrency account and inadvertently sent money to a fraudster. The FOS also released data on individual companies for the first half of 2022. Wealth manager St James’s Place made the list of companies with the highest number of complaints, with 89 complaints made against the firm. A total of 42 of these complaints were made in relation to investments, 38 in relation to decumulation life and pensions, 7 in relation to mortgages and home finance, and 2 in relation to general insurance and protection. Only firms against which the FOS has 20 new and 30 resolved complaints are added to the published list. Over the period, financial services firms themselves resolved 4,242 complaints via the Ombudsman’s new early resolution initiative encouraging firms to resolve complaints themselves. The Financial Ombudsman Service was set up by Parliament in 2000 to resolve individual complaints between financial services firms and their customers. The Ombudsman launched an action plan to improve its services and operational efficiency in December last year.

FOS says half of UCIS complaints relate to SIPPs

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