The latest FCA complaints data shows that in the second half of 2025, financial services firms received 1.87m complaints, a 0.9% increase from H1 (1.85m).
Since 2021 H1, complaints have stayed relatively constant between 1.7m and 2.0m.
However, the figures show differences beginning to emerge between different product groups.
In H2 2025, insurance and pure protection complaints increased by 10.1% from 717,523 to 790,329.
Other groups experienced a decrease in complaint numbers, with banking and credit cards down by 4.7%, decumulation and pensions falling by 6.6%, and investments down 6.9%.
The home finance sector saw a 3.8% fall in complaints over the six-month period, down from 78,616 to 75,658.
The percentage of complaints that were upheld by firms decreased from 57.88% in H1 to 55.50% in H2.
The total redress value fell from a little over £283 million to around £236 million with the average redress upheld dropping to £215 from £238.
Ash Daniells, legal director at Kennedys, commented: "The latest data shows that complaints continue to rise, albeit only by 0.9%. These figures reflect a stubborn market – indeed, since 2021, numbers have remained consistently high. The trend will continue, given consumers are increasingly willing to escalate issues if unhappy.
"The fall in complaints relating to investment and pensions is one of the more encouraging parts of the latest FCA data. Positively it seems firms are making progress in these areas, which have historically attracted higher scrutiny.
"Whilst complaint levels have remained consistently high, the underlying causes are now more commonly pointing towards service level issues, including a lack of communication, rather than isolated failures. This seems to contrast with the FCA’s Consumer Duty, which firms will no doubt need to be prepared to explain and justify."
Phil Smith, head of redress at Broadstone, said: “Complaints across the financial services sector increased slightly in the second half of 2025 but remain well within their historic range. Any rise in consumer dissatisfaction is cause for concern, especially given the intense regulatory focus and scrutiny on treating customers fairly. The sharp rise in insurance and pure protection complaints is particularly notable and may reflect a combination of increased product uptake, issues with certain products, heightened consumer expectations and a greater willingness among customers to challenge outcomes.
“The sharp fall in the value of redress to financial services firms could indicate a reduction in the severity of issues being escalated, or that firms are resolving higher-value complaints earlier in the process before they crystallise into formal redress.
“Firms will be focusing on identifying root causes of complaints, improving front-end customer experience and using complaints data more effectively as a strategic tool to deliver better outcomes and reduce future risk, supported by earlier intervention and clearer customer communications.”
