Banking Ombudsman accepts claims up to $350,000 from 1 April

Banking Ombudsman Scheme to accept claims up to $350,000 from 1 April 2019

The Banking Ombudsman Scheme warmly welcomes an expansion of its remit which will mean customers can take claims of up to $350,000 to the scheme, from 1 April onwards.

Banking Ombudsman Nicola Sladden said the expansion from $200,000 to $350,000 will provide more people with access to justice through the scheme.

“We want to ensure our dispute resolution service is available to as many bank customers as possible.

“Our $200,000 limit was based on the District Court’s limit, which rose to $350,000 in 2016, prompting us to review ours. Feedback from banks was very supportive, which was pleasing given the vital role we play in providing bank customers with access to free and independent redress.”

“This means more people will be able to get access to justice and have their complaints independently considered.”

The scheme will be able to award compensation of up to $350,000 for direct financial loss or damage, as well as up to $9,000 for inconvenience, stress or embarrassment. Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Kris Faafoi has approved the change.

The expanded scope of the scheme comes at a time when banks are under increased scrutiny as a result of reviews by the Financial Markets Authority and the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, and the recommendations of the royal commission in Australia.

“The conduct and culture reviews in New Zealand and Australia highlight the importance of complaints as an indicator that conduct may be falling below community expectations. People can, and should, come to us for an independent review when things go wrong”

“It is important people know about our scheme and can access our service when they need it. Our caseload is increasing year on year and we are resolving cases 25 per cent faster than we were five years ago. The increase in our financial limit now adds to that momentum.”

“We also support the increased focus on transparency and fair consumer outcomes. We are working on a dashboard that will pull together complaint data from banks to give a cross-industry view of the issues that cause complaints, and how widespread they are. This will enable us to highlight opportunities for the industry to improve customer outcomes.”

ENDS

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