The silent majority: what most financial services customers never tell you

If you work in financial services, you probably have a good handle on formal complaints. You know how many you get, how quickly they’re resolved, and what the FCA expects you to report.

But what about the customers who don’t show up in those numbers at all? The ones who feel confused by a letter, frustrated by an app, or disappointed by a service interaction, and then quietly take their business elsewhere. No complaint. No warning. Just gone.

Our 2025 research showed that while 42% of people experienced some kind of frustration with a financial provider in the past year, only 12% say they always complain directly to the company. The rest either stay silent or take their frustrations somewhere else.*

This is what we mean by the silent majority.

Why silence is more damaging than complaints

A complaint gives you a chance to put things right. It flags an issue, creates a paper trail, and opens a conversation. Silence does none of that.

Think about a mortgage customer who struggles to understand their annual statement. Or an insurance customer who finds the claims process more stressful than they expected. Or a saver who isn’t sure whether their rate is still competitive. Most won’t pick up the phone to tell you. They’ll just switch.

By the time the retention report lands on someone’s desk, it’s too late. The damage is already done.

This is why reviews are one of the most powerful sources of insight in financial services. They capture what customers are really feeling in the moment, not what they’re prepared to escalate through a formal process weeks later.

Reviews show you the ‘why’ behind the numbers

A declining retention rate tells you that something has gone wrong. Reviews tell you why.

Across our platform, we often see patterns that don’t show up in complaint data. Things like customers feeling they didn’t fully understand their product, or that terms and conditions were too complex. In our 2025 research, one in five Gen Z consumers said exactly that. That kind of niggle might not be enough to trigger a formal complaint, but it’s more than enough to drive a switch.

Because reviews are written in customers’ own words, they give you the context that a mere 5 start rating alone can’t. You can see where the journey breaks down. Is it onboarding? Ongoing communication? Claims? Renewals? Value for money?

Without that layer of detail, companies are often left guessing.

Why financial services needs specialist insight

Not all review data is created equal. A generic five-star score might tell you someone was happy, but it won’t tell you whether they felt they got fair value, whether they understood what they were buying, or whether the service met their needs as a vulnerable customer.

That’s why working with a financial services specialist matters.

At Smart Money People, every review captures 16+ industry-specific data points. This means you don’t just see that something has dipped, you can see exactly which part of the experience is driving it, and whether it’s an isolated issue or a wider trend across the market.

It also means you can benchmark properly. If your value-for-money scores are slipping compared to your competitors, that’s an early warning sign you can act on before customers start voting with their feet.

Final thoughts

The opportunity is simple. When you capture and analyse review data properly, you’ll hear from the customers who wouldn’t usually speak up. You can fix small issues before they become big ones. You can spot patterns early. And you can show regulators, boards and customers that you’re genuinely listening.

In an industry where trust is everything, that visibility is invaluable.

*Smart Money People research, April 2025