FOS chief: Consumers have changed forever

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Consumer attitudes towards financial services businesses have changed irreversibly, the chief executive of the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has said.

As trust in institutions and established professions has diminished, the public's expectations have risen, according to Natalie Ceeney, writing in the FOS's latest Ombudsman's Focus. Whereas consumers may previously have "put up" with poor service, "perhaps now they just won't", Ceeney wrote. The FOS chief was explaining her outlook for complaints in the coming years. The most recent figures from the service show it handled more than 327,000 complaints in the first half of 2013, a record for the organisation. "I'm convinced that consumer expectations have risen over the last few ye...

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