Financial Institutions Told To Improve Complaint Processes As Consumer Regret Grows

South Africas financial service providers must improve their handling of customer complaints and make processes more accessible to consumers who have expressed high levels of buyers remorse because of the way they have been treated.

A report released by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority FSCA on Monday showed that a low number of complaints were received by the financial institutions surveyed, assessed from 2021 to 2023, including insurers, retirement funds and retirement administrators.

The two-phase study included an online consumer-engagement survey of 11 000 people to gauge their awareness of complaint-handling processes and their experiences, said the FSCAs senior manager for disclosure, advertising and market analysis Koko Kubelo.

The study focused on financial institutions effectiveness in dealing with complaints, the accessibility of complaints-handling processes to consumers and institutions timeliness in resolving complaints, Kubelo said.

What we have seen is that theres a low number of complaints received by the financial institutions and particularly these three industries that we have assessed, she said.