Financial scams are rife these days. Just look at the official complaint figures …
You may not be aware that there is The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) with an Ombudsman that tries to follow through with consumer complaints about the financial sector.
In the last financial year disputes reaching the Ombudsman service rose a further 9 per cent to more than 105,000. This followed an unprecedented 34 per cent jump in complaints in the previous year.
The preliminary data showed scams were a key driver, along with a surge in complaints about comprehensive motor vehicle insurance, contributing to record complaints in the banking and finance, and general insurance sectors.
Banking and finance complaints rose 11 per cent to 59,636 while general insurance complaints rose 4 per cent to 29,096.
Scam-related complaints rose 81 per cent to 10,951, averaging 913 a month compared with 504 a month the previous financial year. That was reflected in personal transaction accounts being the most complained about product overall, while transactions that customers considered unauthorised were the most common issue.
In a worrying new trend, AFCA has started to see instances of sophisticated scam activity in the superannuation sector.
A 21 per cent surge in complaints about comprehensive motor vehicle insurance meant it overtook home building cover as the most complained about insurance product. Claim delays accounted for a third of these vehicle insurance complaints, and delay in claim handling remained the top issue in general insurance overall.
