http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,5-748998,00.html 

Speaking at his last annual meeting of the FSA, the City’s chief watchdog, Sir Howard criticised consumers who lodge spurious claims against financial services companies, condemning “those who appear to believe that every loss to investors, whatever the cause, should be compensated”.

“That way madness lies,” he said.

The chief regulator, who steps down in September, singled out consumers caught up in the mortgage endowment mis-selling scandal. “Some firms’ complaints systems are currently snowed under by indiscriminate claims for compensation by endowment mortgage policyholders,” he said. “Many have little prospect for success and merely delay the resolution of other, worthier claims.”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,3604,1000544,00.html 

He said that companies' complaints systems were being swamped by "indiscriminate" claims for compensation from mortgage endowment policyholders, many of which had "little prospect of success and merely delay the resolution of other, worthy claims". Asked if he thought some people were "trying it on", Sir Howard said: "I fear that seems to be the case, in some cases."

MORE FROM the FSA - Rob McIvor (Press Officer)

Rob McIvor of the FSA said: "The uphold rate is about 45pc, so there are more spurious than valid complaints going in. This culture of complaining on the off chance is on the increase.

"All of our own consumer information has tried to make it very clear that people should only complain if they feel they have been mis-sold, not simply because they have suffered a shortfall. But not all of the information consumers have been receiving has been so clear."