If Consumers Aren’t Complaining, You Should Be Worried

The Financial Markets Authority’s recent research, Why Don’t Consumers Complain? (2025), shines a light on a persistent and costly gap in the financial sector: the disconnect between the existence of complaints processes and their effective use.

While most financial service providers could point to a documented complaints procedure, many are far from embedding it into their organisational DNA. For boards, senior leaders, and regulators alike, this gap is more than a procedural issue — it goes to the heart of trust, accountability, and culture.

When consumers don’t complain, that should be a red flag. The FMA found that a significant number of consumers either don’t know how to complain, don’t think it will make a difference, or don’t trust that their complaint will be taken seriously. 

This reluctance is telling. It indicates that internal complaints schemes may be technically present but practically invisible — poorly signposted, inconsistently handled, or culturally deprioritised within the organisation. When consumers choose silence over engagement, organisations lose one of the most valuable sources of intelligence they have: real-time feedback from the people they serve.

These findings certainly confirm what I have discovered over many years working with organisations to review, design, advise on, and implement complaints and dispute resolution schemes. Too often, organisations have the scaffolding in place — a written policy, a web page, a form — but not the cultural or operational maturity to make those systems meaningful. When complaints systems are treated as peripheral, they inevitably underperform. When they are treated as core governance tools, they become transformative.

In organisations where complaints schemes are well established, complaints are not treated as administrative headaches; they are early-warning systems.

• Frontline staff are trained to recognise what counts as a complaint — not just formal letters, but any expression of dissatisfaction.
• Complaints channels are easy to find, accessible across multiple platforms, and free of unnecessary barriers.
• Complaints are logged consistently, escalated when needed, and tracked through to resolution.
• Trends and systemic issues are identified early and addressed proactively.

This maturity allows issues to be resolved before they escalate into regulatory interventions, reputational damage, or financial liability. It also fosters a culture where speaking up is valued, both for customers and staff.

There is a nexus between effective complaints handling and trust. Organisations that handle complaints well are more likely to be seen by consumers as more credible, fair, and trustworthy.

An effective complaints scheme:

• Signals that the organisation takes consumer concerns seriously, even when those concerns are uncomfortable.
• Creates an avenue for remediation and learning, turning mistakes into opportunities to improve.
• Demonstrates accountability and good governance, which regulators and stakeholders increasingly expect.

This trust dividend matters. In a competitive and regulated environment, consumers gravitate towards providers who are responsive and fair. Conversely, firms that dismiss or bury complaints risk long-term damage to their reputation and social licence.

For boards, complaints schemes should not sit in a compliance silo. They should be treated as governance levers — mechanisms that provide insight into culture, conduct, and customer experience.

Key questions for boards and executives include:

• Are complaints statistics and themes reported regularly, not just volumes?
• Does the board receive analysis of systemic issues raised through complaints?
• Are complaint outcomes used to inform strategy, risk management, and staff training?
• Is leadership modelling a culture where complaints are welcomed as opportunities to improve?

In this sense, a well-functioning complaints system is not a bureaucratic obligation but a powerful diagnostic tool — one that speaks directly to an organisation’s values and effectiveness.

A well-designed, well-governed complaints scheme is not just about fixing problems. It’s about building trust, accountability, and resilience — and ultimately, strengthening the social licence to operate.