The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) – Te Mana Tātai Hokohoko encourages companies to improve their support for customers in making complaints.
In an FMA research called “Why don’t consumers complain?” The Financial Markets Authority revealed that less than one-third of people feel confident in knowing how to raise a complaint against their financial service provider.
Those who wanted to complain but did not, cited obstacles like uncertainty about the outcome, lack of knowledge on how to complain, and the perception that the process would be difficult.
FMA said financial service providers should be visible, easy to contact for complaints, accessible, fair, transparent, and proactive in handling complaints, while demonstrating that they incorporate lessons learnt from complaints into their business processes to enhance outcomes for all consumers.
“We strongly encourage companies to review their complaints processes to ensure they are easily accessible for consumers and fit for purpose,” FMA Executive Director, Licensing and Conduct Supervision, Clare Bolingford said.
“Companies are burying complaints processes deep on their websites, requiring details a customer may not have to hand and treating customers in a defensive and dismissive way.”
“The research findings support the FMA’s focus on ensuring complaints processes are accessible, fair, and effective, not only by making it easy to complain, but also by understanding and addressing the reasons some consumers don’t.”
The report has also found that 31% of complaints go unresolved. Among those who wanted to complain but did not, 33% believed that complaining would be pointless because no action would be taken.
“As New Zealanders are facing increasing financial pressures and rising costs, maintaining consumer confidence in financial services is more important now than ever,” Bolingford added.