Complaints Surge in Non-Fraud-Related Debanking

The average number of general account closure complaints has jumped by almost a third this year, an analysis of official figures shows.

UK Treasury Committee Chair Harriett Baldwin attends the Women's forum in Kigali, Rwanda, on June 20, 2022. Luke Dray/Getty Images

There has been a surge in the number of debanking complaints that are unrelated to suspected fraud or money laundering, according to figures from a watchdog.

Abby Thomas, chief ombudsman of the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), said in a letter to Treasury Committee Chair Harriett Baldwin that the service received a total of 1,613 new complaints about account closures in less than six months between April 1 and Sept. 27.