PPI-related cases are up by 40%, while total of all other complaints has fallen

The increase in the number of cases handled by the Financial Ombudsman’s Service this year is entirely accounted for by complaints about payment protection insurance, the watchdog has revealed.

The FOS’s budget document for 2011/12, published this week, shows that the total number of cases it has handled in the year ending in March is expected to be 7% higher than the previous year.

But while the number of PPI-related complaints is predicted to increase by 40%, the number of all other cases has fallen by 7%. The report says that the number of cases involving general and motor insurance is “broadly similar to recent years”.

Next year, the FOS predicts that the number of new cases it handles will increase by 17%.

Despite a predicted £15m rise in the organisation’s 2011/12 budget, the FOS proposes freezing its case fees and levies at this year’s level. The FOS levy feeds in to the wider Financial Services Compensation Services levy, which is due to be determined over the next two months.

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