automobile finance deals and automobile insurance policies were among the highest complained about industries for the financial Ombudsman last year, according to new figures.  
Despite registering 237,576 fewer complaints overall in 2016 than the previous year, representing a 14 per cent decline, the Ombudsman saw a worrying 64 per cent rise in car finance complaints. 
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The number of people contacting the Ombudsman about a problem with their car finance company reached 5,029 in 2016, up from 3,072 in 2015. The Ombudsman attributed some of this growth to the rising number of automobiles purchased on finance, which now accounts for nearly nine out of ten new automobiles in the Uk. The Ombudsman resolved a quarter of hire purchase complaints last year. 
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The Ombudsman said: “We saw much more complaints about hire purchase agreements as a whole. and as sales of new automobiles continued to grow, we heard from people who’d taken out PCP agreements.”
However, a rise in new automobile sales may not be the only contributing factor, as earlier in the year, the financial Conduct Authority said it will begin to examine “irresponsible” financing practices in the car finance sector. The watchdog said it was concerned about a lack of transparency in the market and people being pushed into deals they may not be able to afford.
Vehicle finance wasn’t the only industry seeing a surge in complaints. problems relating to automobile insurance also grew by 38 per cent. Last year 11,844 people got in touch with the Ombudsman about their car policy, up from 8,585 in 2015, making up nearly a third of all insurance complaints. 
Logbook loans, where motorists use their logbook as collateral for a loan, were another industry that saw a surge in complaints. Although the number of people complaining about their lender rose from 59 to 103 between 2015 and 2016, this represented a 75 per cent rise for the Ombudsman. 
Are you concerned about the rising number of automobile finance and motor insurance complaints? have you ever had cause to complain? tell us in the comments below…