Yorkshire folk '˜are nation's biggest moaners'

A study by Ombudsman Services has said there were 52 million complaints about products and services made across the country last year - with 7.9 million of them originating from people living in Yorkshire and Humberside.

According to the research, there was an average 1.9 complaints per person in the Yorkshire region.

This is above the South-East of England with an average 1.3 complaints per head and London with 1.29.

People in the North East are the least likely to moan, with just 0.63 complaints per person.

The Consumer Action Monitor survey found that although people say they are less likely to put up with poor service from a company this year than last year, 66 million problems still weren’t acted upon.

More than twice as many complaints are now taken through ‘ombudsmen’ than small claims court with nine per cent of people with complaints about products and services taking them to one of the many ombudsman schemes now operating in the UK, in contrast to the four per cent who went through small claims court.

Chief Ombudsman Lewis Shand Smith said: “We’re still seeing consumers ignore millions of problems each year because they’d rather suffer in silence than go through the perceived hassle of complaining – but it’s not as complex and time-consuming as they might think.

“At a time when it is becoming more expensive to take court action, alternative dispute resolution, including ombudsmen, is an important and growing part of the civil justice system as a whole.

“Improving access to justice for consumers has been high on the public agenda this year, with the introduction of a new EU directive and the Consumer Rights Act, but there’s still more that can be done.

“Forward-thinking companies are starting to sign up to alternative dispute resolution services, which are free for their customers – with the continued increase of social media, a poorly handled complaint could significantly damage both their brand and reputation.”