Credit complaints fall by 18%

Complaints about credit institutions fell 18 per cent last year, according to the annual report of the Ombudsman for Credit Institutions.

Ombudsman Mr Gerry Murphy attributed the decrease to better complaints handling by the credit institutions.

"It is clear that over the past few years, significant resources and training have been put in place to deal with complaints early on so that they are less likely to escalate to the dispute stage," Mr Murphy said.

The total number of new complaints about banks, building societies and finance houses made by customers to the Ombudsman in the year ending September 30th, 2004, was 870, down from 1,064 the previous year.

The majority of the complaints - 57 per cent - were resolved to the customer's satisfaction once they were referred by the Ombudsman to the credit institution's internal complaints procedure.

The Ombudsman carried out a full investigation in 373 cases. The complaint was settled during the investigation or upheld in 197 or 53 per cent of these cases. In 176 cases - 47 per cent - the complaint was not upheld.

As in previous years, the operation of accounts gave rise to the highest number of complaints, accounting for over a quarter of cases.

Mortgages accounted for just under 17 per cent, investments made up 16 per cent and other lending accounted for 15.6 per cent of all complaints. There were 88 complaints (10 per cent) about credit cards.

Complaints about foreign exchange transactions rose from 35 in 2003 to 47 last year, while the number of complaints about ATMs also increased slightly, from 45 to 49. There were 39 complaints relating to general poor service.

The Ombudsman for Credit Institutions can award up to €100,000 in any particular case and his findings are binding on credit institutions.

This is the 14th and final year that the Ombudsman will issue an annual report in the present format. A new statutory body, the Financial Services Ombudsman Bureau, is to be established by the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority (IFSRA) and will come into operation on April 1st, 2005.

The financial services Ombudsman has yet to be appointed. Mr Murphy has been appointed deputy Ombudsman and will head up the banking division of the new office.