The UK's Financial Conduct Authority has published information about the number of complaints reported by firms under new rules that came into force on 30 June last year.

The total number of complaints reported by firms in the second half of 2016 was 3.04 million. This number is higher than previous reporting periods because under the FCA’s new rules all complaints are now captured in the data.

The information illustrates the fact that, under the new rules, financial service firms have longer to resolve complaints less formally. They now have three days to answer a complaint to the consumer’s satisfaction - up from the previous limit of the next business day.

The FCA believes that the new data set is more informative because it juxtaposes the number of complaints against the size of the business in question. It also gives the reader a better view of the products that consumers complain about. This information ought to give the FCA a better understanding of the areas where consumers are struggling to attain satisfaction. It also ought to make keep investors better informed about the products that have caused concern for other investors.

Payment protection insurance (PPI) is the most-complained-about product; the total number of complaints about it was 895,000. Excluding PPI, the number of complaints was 2.15 million. Current accounts were the next most-complained-about product with around 514,000.

The total redress paid to consumers was £1.9 billion in the second half of 2016. When all redress payments related to PPI are excluded, the redress figure is approximately £300 million during the same time period.