The service is to publish specific complaints data for the first time in its history.
A new regular report from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) about customer complaints is being planned.
The service said yesterday that it wishes to highlight the failings of financial firms in this way, due to previous criticism that complaints-handling processes were not being carried out with enough transparency. The reports would be released every six months.
A recent report from Lord Hunt of the Wirral, released in April, was critical of FOS' role, saying that it should make the public more aware of how banks, building societies and insurers dealt with complaints. Accordingly, the new documents would publish complaints data for each of the 150 or so financial firms which make up the bulk of FOS business.
Speaking to the Times, a spokesperson said: "It has been so frustrating, because for the past few years, the worst and best companies have remained the same, and yet we have been unable to tell anyone about it."
She added: "There is an increasing emphasis on transparency and this will no doubt benefit consumers."
Recent figures from the service show that complaints have risen 27 percent over the last year. The FOS has never published specific complaints data before, however, due to its own privacy policies.
