The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) received more than 80,000 complaints in the 2019-2020 financial year, an increase of around 13 per cent on the year before.
Chief Executive Officer and Chief Ombudsman of AFCA, David Locke said almost 5,000 of the past year’s complaints were related to the COVID-19 pandemic but most were about credit, insurance claims, and superannuation.
Mr Locke said AFCA secured $258.6 million in compensation and refunds for consumers.
“People made 80,546 complaints to AFCA between 1 July 2019 and 30 June 2020, this is a 13.7 per cent increase in monthly complaints compared to the last financial year (FY18/19),” Mr Locke said.
“AFCA resolved 78 per cent of cases, with a majority being settled in 60 days or less.”
He said 73 per cent of complaints were settled by agreement or in favour of the complainant, with banks being the most complained-about financial institution.
“One in 10 complaints also related to financial difficulty – where a consumer was unable to make repayments on loans due to unforeseen circumstances or over-commitment,” he said.
Mr Locke said AFCA had seen less complaints related to COVID-19 than anticipated due to the proactive response taken by financial firms.
“The pandemic has had a particular impact on Australian households, with 20 per cent of COVID-19 related complaints being about financial hardship,” he said.
“We anticipate seeing more financial difficulty related COVID-19 complaints over the next six months as government support, such as JobKeeper payments are wound back, along with the end of financial firm initiatives such as a ban on rental evictions, and mortgage pausing,” Mr Locke said.
