The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) has marked its first six months of operating by claiming it has collected over $83 million for consumers and small businesses who approached it with financial complaints.
AFCA’s six month report revealed that it had received over 35,000 complaints, an workload far exceeding initial forecasts.
It said 60 per cent of the complaints have already been resolved, with 74 per cent resolving in favour of the complainant or by agreement.
Chief Ombudsman and Chief Executive at AFCA, David Locke said the large number of complaints highlighted the important role the Authority can play in rebuilding customer trust in the Australian financial services sector.
“AFCA stands firmly on the side of fairness and a key part of our role is increasing transparency in the financial sector,” Mr Locke said.
“We have published this report so that Australians can see which financial products and services receive the most complaints and how they are being handled by the financial firms.”
The report shows that banks received the most complaints of all financial institutions (12,305), followed by general insurers (6,839) and credit providers (5,447).
It shows that the most complained about financial products were credit cards (5,191), followed by home loans (2,921) and personal loans (2,704).
AFCA’s 20-page six-month report can be accessed at this PS News link.
