Britain's banks hit with more than 20,000 complaints a day after PPI scandal

Banks were bombarded with 23,500 customer complaints, on average, every day in the first half of this year.

The 4.3 million total was almost 400,000 more than the second half of 2018 and fuelled by a surge in gripes about payment protection insurance.

PPI accounted for nearly half of all complaints to banks and other ­financial firms during the first six months of 2019, said the Financial Conduct Authority.

PPI complaints leaped 34%, with a deadline for submitting claims for missold policies set for August 31.

Claims to banks rocketed in the final weeks before the cut-off date, leading to long delays in processing.

Banks have been slammed with complaints (Getty Images)

Although PPI complaints rose, there was a 6% drop in the number of complaints about other issues.

The FCA said: “Excluding PPI, the most complained-about products remain current accounts, credit cards and motor and transport insurance.”

Adam French of consumer champion Which? said: “The PPI scandal was created by banks but they have consistently dodged their responsibilities and let customers down.”