Got a complaint? Join the queue

We're not by nature a complaining lot. But, judging by the latest complaints figures published by the Financial Ombudsman Service, when pushed we don't hold back.

Bear in mind that for a complaint to reach the Ombudsman, someone has had to be pretty resolute. There's a whole series of complaining hoops that most financial firms make you jump through before your complaint is allowed to go to Ombudsman.

For starters, you'll have to complain in the first instance to the branch or call centre you dealt with. To be fair that makes perfect sense. Often that first-line person can spot the corporate cock-up and put things right simply and efficiently. At least, that's the theory.

But for most complainants a more senior member of staff will have to get involved, meaning the problem is unlikely to be resolved quickly or to the customer's satisfaction.

The delays and red-tape seem to be a deliberate tactic to put people off taking complaints any further. The next step is normally head office's customer complaints department.

If your complaint reaches that level, there's fresh hell in the form of a series of holding letters or demands for more information.

Once you've been through the customer service mill - which can take months - and been given the brush off once more, then and only then can you take your complaint beyond the financial services company.

The Financial Ombudsman Service is the body charged with dealing with complaints that banks, insurers and other haven't been able to resolve through their internal procedures.

The body does its best but, frankly, has been unable to cope with the tidal wave of complaints in recent years. The problem began with millions of mis-sold payment protection insurance (PPI) policies.

With banks refusing to accept that they had misled customers over PPI, every single complaint had to go on to the Ombudsman. It received about 105,000 in the past year alone, or roughly 400 a day.