2024-04-08 15:48:03
Consumers’ anger toward banks, insurance companies and securities service providers was particularly strong last year. One case stands out.
Last year, the financial regulator Bafin received more complaints from consumers about banks, insurers and securities service providers than ever since the authority published the figures.
Bank customers in particular are dissatisfied
Bafin counted a total of 38,233 cases. According to the information, that was a good 62 percent more than a year before. The number of complaints from bank customers rose particularly sharply, increasing by almost 87 percent to 27,536.
“A significant proportion of the complaints about disruptions in private customer service at banks came from a financial institution,” explained Christian Bock, head of the Bafin consumer protection department on Monday.
Account problems at Postbank
According to the information, the main reasons for dissatisfaction among customers of credit institutions were problems with account cancellations, disruptions in customer service, annual tax certificates issued late and impermissible fees for building savings contracts.
Last year, in connection with an IT change, there was also an increase in the anger of Postbank customers who were temporarily no longer able to access accounts or complained about delays in building financing. As part of an IT change, twelve million Postbank customers were brought together on one platform with seven million Deutsche Bank customers in Germany.
For insurance: Poor customer service
According to Bafin, insurance customers complained primarily about slow claims processing and slow payment of insurance benefits. “Property and accident insurers were also noticeably often difficult to reach by phone,” Bock reported in the “Bafin Journal”.
When it comes to life insurers, customers are particularly bothered by the amount of the insurance benefit. The number of complaints about insurance increased overall by a good 20 percent to 7,680 cases.
Customer service at securities service providers has also often been criticized. According to the information, customers complained about long response times, inadequate response letters or difficulties in connection with securities account transfers. The number of complaints rose by a total of almost 18 percent to 2,835. Investors complained about capital management companies in 182 cases. Last year there were 96 complaints.