Towry receives over 2,000 complaints plus 97% upheld
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Towry received over 2,000 complaints in the second half of last year, with 97 per cent of complaints upheld over the same period.
The bulk of Towry’s complaint figures between July 1 and December 31 relate to its takeover of Edward Jones, with 1,301 new complaints received by Towry Edward Jones and 766 received by Towry Investment Management.
Overall Towry received a total of 2,067 complaints over the six month period.
Of the 1,554 closed complaints relating to Edward Jones, 97 per cent were upheld. Of the 667 closed complaints relating to Towry Investment Management, 93 per cent were upheld.
The complaints figures, published by the FSA today, reflect the complaints that have been received by the companies in the first instance. The Financial Ombudsman Service complaints figures published in February reflect the complaints that have been through the company’s internal complaints procedure and which are then referred to FOS.
The FSA figures reveal that Norwich & Peterborough Building Society, which has made a £57m provision for compensation for customers that invested in Keydata products, received 2,301 new complaints in the second half of last year.
N&P upheld 16 per cent of the 2,233 cases closed during the period.
Sesame received 795 new complaints, and upheld 18 per cent of 754 closed complaint cases.
Barclays Bank received the most complaints between July and December last year, with 276,315. The bank closed 279,646 complaints over the same period, with 55 per cent of cases upheld.
Santander’s banking arm received 195,475 new complaints and closed 252,963 complaints, of which 53 per cent were upheld.
Lloyds TSB Bank received 175,892 new complaints and closed 136,908, of which 48 per cent were upheld.
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Readers' comments (13)
Anonymous | 30 Mar 2011 10:03 am
These figures really do support the FSA's determination to get rid of all the small, local, honest and competent IFA population (NOT !)
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Anonymous | 30 Mar 2011 10:03 am
Towry Law are a well respected company, as it indicates on their website, today.
"Our advisers are required to become professionally qualified to Chartered Financial Planner status, the highest professional qualification in the industry."
"We offer fee based, independent financial advice"
Another victory for the pro examination and fee based supporters?
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Alan Lakey | 30 Mar 2011 10:08 am
Andy Fisher has been the most vocal exponent of the RDR proposals. Indeed he wrote to Gordon Brown some years back informing him that the global economic crisis was due to the evils of commission.
Andy is so evangalistic that he even wants commission removed from protection plans.
Clearly the Towry route is the way forward - God help the consumer.
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Chris Wicks CFP | 30 Mar 2011 10:15 am
Further evidence that, however convenient for the FSA to deal with fewer larger organisations, BIG is not better. Here we have a national IFA, whose CEO is often quoted in the press adopting the moral high ground against other advisers, having a ridiculously large number of complaints against it. Oh and, almost in passing it is mentioned that Barclays had the most complaints. No surprise to any of us, lower mortals who often find ourselves in front of clients who have been at the receiving end of the kind of 'professional advice' doled out by these people.
Mustn't grumble, I suppose. I am sure the FSA know what they are doing and don't actually have an agenda..... Its just that when they look at data they seem to come to different conclusions to most of the rest of us.
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Norman English | 30 Mar 2011 10:24 am
Well I never, make regulation and cost so great that we lose all the bottom end small but honest IFA's, this will lead to the FSA, FSCS in gettng more complaints to increase the compensation levy and FSA Fees and then that will help the FSA increase costs and charges again. This then will result in middle size companies then being squeesed out and then your just left with the big boys, well now does the complaints register? I thiss a good thing or not. I leave it you to decide.
Oh by then its too late the small IFAs are gone and the clients left high and dry.
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Fraser Brydon - IFA | 30 Mar 2011 10:27 am
Let he who is without sin cast the first stone, be careful what you preach as it just may happen....this does nothing to help the cause of the IFA, look out 'cos the FSA will take what they want from these stats and ram home their own agenda.
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Dr D | 30 Mar 2011 10:43 am
Here is a formula how the FOS can really analyse the data on who are the worst offenders.
Take the number of complaints from that firm and divide it by the number of RI's in that firm. That will give you the average number of complaints per adviser over a given period.
I would suggest that most small IFA firms have no were near the average complaint ratio compared with the banks and major IFA firms.
Yet it is the assertion of the regulator that the biggest area of risk lies with small IFA's. The actual figures seem to convey something completely the opposite.
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Derek Gair | 30 Mar 2011 11:17 am
Truly Marvelous ! a shining example of the RDR business model in all its glory.
12% of his client bank (I think the last time I heard Fisher speak he had about 17000 clients - might be wrong) complained and between 93%-97% had their complaint upheld. What a great comparison with general industry statistics - makes the Banks positively greaming examples in comparison.
RDR the way forward - couldnt write this could you !!!
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Anonymous | 30 Mar 2011 11:35 am
Brilliant reporting!
Towry get the headline news whilst the three banks get a minor mention for almost 650,000 complaints between them and 300,000+ upheld.
No bias here then......
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Adam Smith | 30 Mar 2011 11:47 am
Given the press coverage over their results the last couple of days, I'm surpirsed few people seem to be picking up on the footnote to the released data:
"Card Protection Plan Limited ... has not been included ... because of a discrepancy between the data it has reported to the FSA and the data it has published on its website. We are following this up with the firm. "
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