In its Spring Circular, the ombudsman revealed it received 8,304 disputes in the September 2013 quarter, up from 8,255 in the June quarter
The number of complaints has dropped steadily from the most recent peak of 9,562 in the March 2012 quarter.
Disputes about credit products topped the list at 48 per cent, followed by general insurance complaints (28 per cent) and complaints about deposit taking (6.6 per cent). Investments complaints sat at 4.6 per cent.
The FOS accepted 6,178 complaints in over the quarter (‘acceptance’ being the second stage of a complaint’s progress), which is down three per cent on the same period last year.
“We anticipated this reduction, as our members had told us they would be focusing on improving their internal dispute resolution process from this financial year onwards,” said the ombudsman.
The FOS identified new systemic issues that related to improper collection activity, inadequate claims handling processes, policies for dealing with customers in financial difficulty, and compliance with a managed investment scheme agreement.
There were a also a number of possible systemic issues flagged by the ombudsman.
One financial services provider currently has three FOS disputes relating to the actions of one authorised representative; another provider has attracted FOS’ attention due to its poor compliance with the ‘know your client’ obligations and the format of its statements of advice; and a third financial services provider does not appear to be providing its clients with the contacts details of FOS, as required by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) regulatory guide 165.
