COMPLAINING is often said to be a British national pastime, with everything from the lack of sunshine to the state of the roads in the firing line when it comes to a good moan.

And now it has emerged that Scots are the king of complainers when when they are confronted goods and services not being up to scratch.

According to official data, consumers north of the border made more than 5 million official complaints last year against big firms they found had let them down, more per head of population than anywhere else in the UK.

Chief in their sights were shops and online retailers, followed by telecommunications companies and energy providers, while the number of grievances almost doubled since 2014.

According to Ombudsman Services’, which mediates on consumers' behalf without resorting to court action, Scots made an average of 1.25 complaints each last year, in comparison to just 1.08 per head in the rest of the UK.

Top of the pops aimed at retailers were objections to poor quality products, which accounted for 38 per cent of all complaints, followed by gripes about faulty goods.

More than a quarter of the appeals to the Ombudsman were about poor customer service, while 8 per cent of people said they had been miss-sold something.

The increase in the number of complaints has been partly put down to a greater uptake of social media.

More than one in three people in the UK used social media to raise a complaint last year, up 5 per cent from the year before, with the number of jibes on sites like Facebook and Twitter reaching approximately 1.8 million in Scotland alone.

Psychologist Graham Jones, an expert on consumer behaviour, said that people often felt more comfortable complaining online as they soon attract the support of others who had faced similar difficulties.

He said: "This is a well-documented phenomenon known as a 'social proof', where people will go on Facebook and Twitter and say that they have complained about something.

"People have been doing that more and more and now complaining is seen as acceptable behaviour. If we see lots of our friends complaining we're more likely to complain ourselves.

"We know that there's enthusiastic use of broadband in Scotland, and increased use of social media could be one reason why we are seeing a rise in complaints there."

However, although many Scots showed a readiness to take action when faced with corporate blunders and retail disappointment, the Ombudsman Services' also found that they were ready to forgive if given a prompt apology.

Four out of five people said that they just wanted the problem to be put right with the minimum of fuss, while half said they'd be happy if the object of their ire said sorry. Only 31 per cent said they expected financial compensation.

Citizens' Advice Scotland consumer spokesman Fraser Sutherland said is was important for Scots to know they could stand up for their rights.

He said: "There is no doubt that we are becoming more of a consumer society, and part of that is about consumers recognising they have power. Power to shop around and use the market, and also power to complain when they feel aggrieved.

"It's encouraging to see that Scots are doing that more than the rest of the uk, but. these figures show there are still too many people who feel it's not worth it or it won't work.

"In fact complaining does work, and we need to demonstrate that, and also to actively help people complain."

Chief Ombudsman Lewis Shand Smith said: “Complaints increased by 1.4 million from this time last year, which is testament to Scottish consumers’ growing awareness and desire to be treated fairly by big firms.

“Despite this positive news, consumers are still ignoring 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.

“Consumer rights have been thrown into the spotlight this year, and forward-thinking companies are starting to sign up to alternative dispute resolution services, which are free to their customers. With the continued increase of social media, a poorly handled complaint could significantly damage both their brand and reputation.”