The Credit Ombudsman Service has told its members that one way of reducing the number of complaints it receives is to do more to promote their own internal dispute resolution processes.The ombudsman said that complaints from consumers increased by 33 per cent in the year to June.In a member newsletter issued this week, the ombudsman said: "A well promoted and easily accessible complaint handling process is simply the most effective way of avoiding complaints being referred to us."It is critical that your clients approach your business first. They will only do this if they know you are willing to listen to them and act on their concerns."The ombudsman said 50 per cent of the calls it received were from people who thought they were calling their financial institution. It said this was usually because the institution has given the ombudsman more prominence in its correspondence than its own dispute resolution process.The ombudsman said members must review their documents to make sure they were giving their own process prominence.