Surge In Complaints Sparks Call For Action
The Age
Monday November 1, 1999
Australia's banks, facing a 7per cent jump in consumer complaints, have again been urged to improve their customer dispute procedures.
Housing loans, credit cards and personal loans were once more the biggest source of disputes, according to the banking ombudsman's annual report to be released today.
The ombudsman, Mr Colin Neave, reports that during 1998-1999 the number of complaints topped 5000 for the first time since the ombudsman's office was set up nine years ago.
Complaints this year numbered 5076. Telephone inquiries also increased.
Mr Neave said yesterday that while the banks' dispute resolution systems had been working well, the banks were not doing nearly enough to publicise them.
``They need to be more pro-active - for example, having a separate toll-free telephone number for people to ring up with their complaints," he said.
Many inquiries to the ombudsman's office had been quickly and easily resolved once the complainants were re-directed to the bank's internal dispute resolution procedures.
``I can't comment on whether it's surprising that they don't make it more public ... but it ought to be in their own best interests," he said.
Mr Neave said that the banks' overall customer service standards had probably improved in the past year.
But consumers' wider awareness of their rights, and of the existence of the ombudsman, meant the number of complaints was still increasing.
Mr Neave said the increase in the number of complaints from rural people indicated the ombudsman's scheme was being more widely accepted by Australians.
Disputes about housing loans (24 per cent of product complaints) often related to delays in formally approving the loan after the customer thought they had been approved already or about being hit for high fees for the early termination of the loans.
Disputes about consumer finance (23 per cent of product complaints) included credit card and personal loan problems.
Credit card disputes often related to customers still having to pay interest, even though they had paid off the debt, because they paid the debt after the due date.
The biggest reason for disputes related to transactions and calculations, followed by banking practice and service quality.
© 1999 The Age
Share This