The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) has launched a national ‘Financial Fairness Roadshow’, which will “serve as a roaming information centre” to inform consumers and small businesses of its services and walk them through the process of lodging a complaint.
The roadshow came about as new research shows fewer than one out of every two people with a concern about their financial provider actually lodge a complaint.
“If it’s something you’ve felt strongly enough to complain about to your friends and family, chances are you have a case to pursue,” said AFCA Chief Ombudsman and CEO, David Locke.
“It’s confusing to work out what to do when something does go wrong – which is why AFCA is traveling around Australia, to make sure people do know where to go when they have a problem.
“We’re also letting people know they have a one year window to lodge complaints dating back to 2008. The special rules around ‘legacy complaints’ have been set by the Australian Government, and AFCA can accept legacy complaints until June 30, 2020.”
In June, ASIC extended the scope of AFCA, allowing Australian consumers and small businesses that felt they were harmed by financial misconduct to retroactively lodge complaints dating back to 1 January 2008.
Following the announcement, FBAA managing director Peter White expressed frustration over the lack of transparency around how today’s regulation could be applied to decisions made in the past, under a different set of rules.
“We need to be able to trust what AFCA is doing. They need to step up to the plate and give a clear understanding as to how these determinations will be measured,” he said.
As of yet, no further clarity has been provided.
In the first six months of AFCA’s operation, mortgage brokers accounted for just 107 of the 35,263 complaints – just 0.3%.
The roadshow begins in Hobart on 23 September, before stopping at 77 metropolitan, regional and rural communities between September and April.
