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When things go wrong with a financial product in the holiday season

Date published: 2 December 2024 Home insurance : Category Fraud and scams : Category Credit and borrowing money : Category Travel Insurance : Category

On this page, you’ll discover how we can help if things don’t go to plan with a financial product or service over the holiday season.  

If you’re facing issues with a financial business and you’re not happy with how they’ve handled things – we’re here to help. 

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As we move closer to the end of the year, the busy season is approaching us, with shorter days, colder nights and the holiday rush.

Some of us may be shopping during the sales period, while others may be hoping to get away for a winter break, and some may choose to stay close to home.

We know that if something goes wrong with a financial product or service, it can be a stressful experience during this busy time.

If you’re facing issues with a financial business and you’re not happy with how they’ve handled things – we’re here to help. 

Complaints we see at this time of the year

  • Home insurance

    The cold weather increases the risk of burst pipes, flooding and, if it's stormy, damage to property. That could mean you have to claim on your home insurance. If you’re unhappy with how your insurer deals with your claim, we may be able to help.

    How we settle home insurance complaints

  • Fraud and scams

    Scammers take advantage of the seasonal rise in shopping, sending and spending money. If you've complained to your bank or payment provider following a fraud or scam, and think they haven’t treated you fairly, you can bring your complaint to us.

    How we settle fraud and scams complaints

  • Borrowing money

    If something goes wrong with an item you bought using credit, you might complain to your lender. If you feel they haven’t treated you fairly, you can bring your complaint to us and we’ll check if we can help. 

    How we settle credit or borrowing money complaints

  • Travel insurance

    Planning to get away from it all? Delays, cancellations, lost luggage, or illness are just some of the reasons why you may need to make a claim. If you're unhappy with how your insurer deals with your claim, we may be able to help.

    How we settle travel insurance complaints

Examples of cases we settled

Here are some examples of we have investigated during this busy time of the year to help demonstrate the importance of being vigilant of issues:

  • When a consumer’s boiler broke, they claimed for the repair under their home emergency insurance, but it took four weeks for their insurer to fix the boiler.

    This meant that, despite having a young baby, they had no hot water or heating over the Christmas and New Year period. With engineers also missing appointments and delays obtaining boiler parts, the homeowner was left unhappy with how the insurer handled the case.

    In our investigation, we found that the insurer failed to manage expectations in a busy period. They should have communicated better around the missed appointments and could have provided the consumer the option to arrange repairs themselves and claim back the cost.

    We told the insurer to pay the consumer compensation for the distress and inconvenience, and reimburse the extra cost of the heating bills and the electric heaters. 

  • A consumer contacted us when PayPal refused to refund her for an expensive designer second hand cardigan she had purchased as a Christmas gift for her daughter on an auction site. The consumer argued that the cardigan wasn’t in the condition described and looked different to the photos, and wanted a refund for the misleading purchase.

    We  investigated the complaint and found that PayPal hadn’t acted fairly in their investigation as the seller had clearly not represented the cardigan accurately. As the Christmas gift did not meet expectations, the consumer was eligible for a refund under Section 75. We ordered PayPal to pay £100 by way of compensation.  

  • A consumer complained to us after her insurer voided her home insurance policy following a burglary. She claimed £120,000 for stolen jewellery but her policy only covered up to £25,000. The insurer explained the consumer had underinsured her belongings and claimed that, if they had known the true value, they wouldn’t have provided cover – which is why they voided her policy, refunded the premiums, and denied the claim.

    We reviewed the case and found the consumer had not updated her policy to reflect the actual value of her possessions, despite reminders to ensure accuracy. The insurer’s guidelines showed they would not have insured contents exceeding £100,000 or with significant jewellery.

    We concluded the insurer acted fairly in voiding the policy and refunding the premiums, as the consumer had failed to provide accurate information about her belongings.

How to complain if you’re unhappy with a financial product or service

1

Complain to the business

If something goes wrong with a financial product or service, you should complain to the business and give them a chance to sort things out. 

2

Bring your complaint to us

If the problem is still unresolved or you’re not happy with how you’ve been treated, you can bring your complaint to us. Our service is free and easy to use.

3

Get it settled

We’ll look at both sides and make a fair decision on what’s happened. If we think the business did something wrong, we’ll tell them what to do to put things right.