577 complaints were made the Channel Islands Financial Ombudsman last year, between islanders and their financial services.
577 people complained about their bank, insurer, investments or pension provider last year.
The number of grievances has grown every year since the office was set up in 2019.
The Channel Islands Financial Ombudsman is an independent service which resolves disputes between complainants and their Financial Service Providers (FSPs).
The majority of grievances to the ombudsman from Jersey were about current accounts, with common gripes relating to poor administration and delays.
In Guernsey, home emergency and private health insurance were the problem products - particularly the non-payment of claims.
Complaints overview (Credit: CIFO)
The office is reporting another big rise in fraud and scam-related cases, which have tripled in two years.
The CIFO awarded £831,868 in compensation in 2024. That figure does not include settlements made voluntarily by FSPs.
Complaints by sector and type (Credit: CIFO)
Its annual report has highlighted how slow many providers are to respond to complaints. Such delays are often the reason for the customer's original grievance, but it seems that even when the CIFO gets involved, things don't improve.
FSPs have 14 days to provide their complaint file, but the average last year was 60 days - almost twice as long as the average wait in 2023. In some cases, it took up to ten months to get the information needed to investigate the complaint.
The ombudsman says many complaints could have been resolved by the provider directly with their customer.
Principal Ombudsman Douglas Melville says his ability to compel FSPs to provide evidence is limited, and the CIFO will be consulting with the government in Jersey and Guernsey on this matter.
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