Industry funds representative body the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees (AIST) has urged the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) to identify the firms about which it makes determinations while supressing the names of those making the complaints.
At the same time, the AIST called for the naming of service providers such as insurance companies if they are responsible for or have contributed to the raising of a complaint.
The AIST used a submission responding to AFCA’s consultations around rule changes to state that “consumers need to know which financial organisations have been complained about”.
Further it said that consumers needed to know which complaints ended up needing to be determined, what the complaints were about and whether they were upheld in favour of the complainant.
“This information should be published on AFCA’s website in a snapshot format for each member financial firm,” the submission said.
“AIST supports the proposal in the Consultation Paper that the name of the financial firm (s) would be published in AFCA determinations going forward. As we have previously stated, it is important that consumers are aware which financial organisations have been complained about,” it said. “We also support the non-publication of the names of other parties. It is particularly important that the name of the complainant is not published.”
“AIST appreciates that the AFCA Rules confine ‘financial firms’ to those which are AFCA members. Accordingly, the Consultation Paper – if implemented – would mean that individual people engaged within the financial firm would not be named. AIST supports this,” the submission said.
AFCA just want it to discourage financial firms disputing their initial decisions (and therefore not going to final Determination). They are extremely behind dealing with matters and this is an underhanded way to help themselves. In the end it wont hurt firms, nor will really help consumers as I assume it will only list the Licensee?