The Banking and Financial Services Ombudsman’s 2005 Annual Report shows that there was an increase in reported disputes of 4.2 per cent to 6,104. The trend of a higher proportion of complex cases continued this year.
Consumer Finance (32.5 per cent) was the top product category in disputes this year. The other main product categories were Deposit Accounts (18.5 per cent), Housing Finance (18.2 per cent) and Payment Systems (17.1 per cent).
The main product complained about in the Consumer Finance category continues to be the credit card account. Complaints about this product have increased from 1,101 last year to 1,189 this year. The main
problems identified were the same as last year: unauthorised transactions and maladministration in granting credit.
The main product complained about in the Deposit Account category was the statement savings account, with incorrect fees identified as the main problem.
