Complaints data 2026 H1: 1.85m complaints and reporting duties

At a Glance

The FCA 's complaints data 2026 H1 publication, released on 22 October 2026, reports 1.85 million complaints received by regulated firms between January and June 2026, 6.3% more than the previous six months. Regulated firms must submit complaints data to the FCA every 6 months as part of their regulatory reporting requirements.

It lets readers search and compare complaints data reported by individual firms, which helps firms compare their performance with the wider market.

What Has Changed

Complaint volumes rose

Financial services firms reported 1.85 million complaints between January and June 2026, and the FCA says this is 6.3% more than the 1.74 million complaints in H2 2025. Current accounts remained the most complained-about product. The FCA states that complaints data helps firms compare their performance with the wider market, and that it uses the information to monitor how firms treat customers and identify potential areas of concern.

Outcomes held steady

The FCA reports that 54.8% of closed complaints were upheld, 0.8 percentage points lower than the 55.5% upheld in H2 2025. It also reports that 94.5% of complaints were closed within 8 weeks, with 44.8% closed within 3 days and 5.5% taking longer than 8 weeks. Consumers received £240 million in redress payments, up 1.8% from £236 million in H2 2025.

Consumer credit sits outside the headline totals

The FCA says the aggregate complaints data does not include complaints reported by firms that are authorised only for consumer credit activities. Consumer credit complaints data is available separately within the firm-level data where firms have published the information themselves or given permission for it to be published. Anyone comparing volumes across sectors must account for this gap.

FCA complaints data, January to June 2026, with key reference points

Who Needs to Act

The FCA says the data covers complaints received, closed, upheld, redress paid, the products complained about and the reasons for complaints. The FCA's aggregate publication combines complaints reported by more than 3,000 regulated firms. Firms authorised only for consumer credit activities are excluded from these aggregate figures.

The FCA says firm-level data only includes firms that reported 500 or more complaints in a 6-month reporting period, or 1,000 or more complaints in a year for certain reporting firms. Firms below these thresholds are included in the aggregate totals but are not shown separately. Some firms report complaints jointly with other firms in the same group. Consumers and complainants can use this data to understand how firms handle complaints. The FCA also cautions that reporting inaccuracies or inconsistencies may still remain between firms.

Evidence to Prepare

A firm should understand exactly what its regulatory reporting covers before each six-monthly submission. The FCA's data includes complaints received, closed, upheld, redress paid, the products customers complained about and the reasons for complaints. The FCA defines a complaint as an expression of dissatisfaction about a financial product or service provided by a regulated firm, and says a complaint is resolved when the customer accepts the firm's response, which does not have to be in writing. Your definitions should match this wording so your counts can be reconciled with the FCA's published figures. Check whether your firm is near either firm-level threshold, because that determines whether your firm appears in the firm-level dataset.

A key pitfall is treating the published figures as a performance ranking. The FCA says complaints data should not be used on its own to assess a firm's overall performance, and that comparisons should consider customer base size, the number of products, resolution speed, the proportion upheld and the level of redress paid. The FCA also says historic figures may change if firms correct or resubmit data. Finally, the FCA's complaints data and the Financial Ombudsman Service data measure different things and should not be compared directly.

What Firms Should Do Now

MEMA View

The board should decide whether complaints data is reviewed as a governance item or left with operations. Because the FCA uses the data to monitor firms and to identify potential areas of concern, a board that sees a sudden rise in complaints, an upheld rate out of line with peers or redress paid rising faster than volume has a reason to ask questions before the FCA does. We would put a standing item on the risk committee agenda, timed to each six-monthly submission, covering volumes, upheld rate, time to close and redress paid, with the definitions written down.

The trade-off is effort against accuracy. Resubmitting data is possible, but it costs time and draws attention, so getting definitions right at the first submission is cheaper than correcting them later. We would reconcile complaint logs to the FCA's definitions before each cycle, test whether the firm is near a publication threshold, and treat any consumer credit complaints as a separate line. Boards should not use the published figures alone to judge performance, and should compare their own numbers against the FCA's stated factors, not against headline totals.

If you are unsure how your complaint counts map to the FCA's definitions or thresholds, MEMA's team can reconcile them with you as part of ongoing FCA compliance support.

For context on where complaints handling fits within the wider plan, see our guide to the FCA's 2026 compliance priorities.

Source Evidence

Disclaimer

This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal or regulatory advice. Firms should assess the application of regulatory requirements by reference to their permissions, products, customers and operating model.

How MEMA Can Help

MEMA can reconcile your complaints log against the FCA's definitions, including the closure test and the firm-level thresholds, before your next six-monthly submission. We can also review any consumer credit complaints and set up a board reporting pack that tracks volumes, upheld rates and redress against the factors the FCA says to use. Book a free scoping call.