Why modern services are easier to use, but harder to fix when they fail

From late deliveries to last-minute cancellations, the same everyday services are driving the majority of complaints, and the pattern is becoming harder to ignore.

Resolver data, May 2025 through to April 2026, shows that issues aren’t concentrated in a handful of companies. Instead, they’re clustering around entire sectors, particularly those that have become more digital, more complex, and more stretched.

 

Online shopping leads by volume, and complexity

If something goes wrong, it’s most likely to happen when you shop online. In 2026, online shopping accounted for around 46% of complaints across the main consumer-facing categories, making it by far the largest source of issues.

By comparison:

• Package delivery makes up roughly 6% of complaints
• In-store shopping accounts for around 4%

What’s driving this isn’t just poor service, it’s how retail now operates.

You’re increasingly buying through layered systems:

• Marketplaces connecting multiple sellers
• Third-party logistics providers
• Separate returns and refund processes

At a company level, complaints are spread across a wide mix of brands, from established high street names to newer online-only retailers, rather than concentrated in one or two problem companies. That dispersion suggests the issue lies in the structure of online retail itself, not just individual company performance.

 

Flights: fewer headlines, but constant disruption

Travel complaints remain heavily tied to flights. In the same period, flights account for around 14% of complaints, making them the second biggest source overall. What’s notable isn’t a single spike, but consistency.

Looking across the data, complaint volumes fluctuate month to month rather than peaking around a single event, pointing to ongoing, low-level disruption rather than isolated crises. At a company level, complaints are spread across multiple airlines rather than dominated by one or two single providers, reinforcing the sense that this is a system-wide issue.

Flights aren’t failing dramatically, they’re struggling steadily.

 

Gambling complaints rise as regulation tightens

One of the clearest sector trends is in gambling. In 2025/26, gambling makes up around 5% of complaints, placing it among the more prominent sources of consumer issues.

Here, company-level data does show a pattern. Multiple major operators appear repeatedly, including brands like Ladbrokes and BetMGM, alongside a wider range of smaller platforms.

This reflects a sector in transition:

• Stricter affordability checks
• Increased identity verification
• Greater regulatory scrutiny

The result is a rise in disputes, even as oversight improves.

 

Finance: more providers, more points of friction

Financial services present a more diffuse picture, complaints are spread across products, with:

• Credit cards accounting for around 2.5% of complaints
• Current accounts just under 2%
• Loans and car finance each contributing around 1%

Rather than one dominant issue, you’re seeing steady volumes across multiple areas.

At a company level, this includes a mix of traditional banks and newer or specialist lenders, reflecting how your financial life has become more fragmented. Complaints here aren’t just reactive, they’re increasingly proactive.

 

Telecoms: lower volume, higher expectations

Telecoms generate fewer complaints overall, but they remain highly visible when they occur.

Across the sector:

• Mobile-related issues make up around 2.5% of complaints
• Broadband accounts for just over 1%

Unlike retail or travel, complaint volumes here are relatively stable. What’s changed is expectation, with more of your life dependent on connectivity, even minor disruptions feel significant, and pricing changes are under greater scrutiny.

 

Energy and everyday services: signs of stabilisation

Not all sectors are seeing sustained pressure. In 2025/26, energy complaints account for around 2% of cases, significantly lower than during recent periods of volatility.

Other everyday services, such as property, legal services and public services make up relatively small proportions of overall complaints by comparison. That suggests some stabilisation in areas that previously saw sharper spikes.

 

What the data really shows

Across both sector and company data, one theme runs through everything. Complaints are no longer concentrated in a few high-profile failures. Instead, they’re spread across systems that are:

• More digital
• More interconnected
• More reliant on multiple providers

That shift changes the nature of consumer frustration. It’s less about one company getting it wrong, and more about processes that don’t quite join up.

The biggest complaints in 2025/2026 are concentrated in the services you rely on most, especially online shopping, flights and gambling, and driven by how those services are delivered, not just who delivers them.

And while complaints are rising in some areas, so too is your willingness to challenge them. In that sense, the data reflects not just where things go wrong, but how consumer expectations are changing along the way.