Financial sector flaws

REGULATOR: GAPS IN COMPLAINT HANDLING

- Liesl Peyper Moneyweb

South African consumers are generally not happy with the complaint-handling processes of financial services providers (FSPs), nor are they sufficiently aware of how to lodge complaints.

This is according to a survey conducted by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA), which gathered responses from financial services providers, retirement funds and 11,602 consumers between 2021 and 2023.

The FSCA, which is the market conduct regulator of financial institutions in SA, presented the findings on Monday.

As part of the survey, the FSCA also analysed the annual reports (from 2019 to 2021) of the Office of the Pension Funds Adjudicator and the ombud for financial services providers for insight into their experiences in dealing with consumer complaints.

Consumer responses The survey shows that financial institutions showed commitment to establishing and maintaining appropriate complaint management processes.