Adv John Simpson, the FAIS Ombud
The Office of the Ombud for Financial Services Providers (FAIS Ombud) continually strives to educate those we serve about our services and to make them easily accessible. In addition, we look to engage with both consumers and financial services providers to understand their respective rights and responsibilities. The ultimate aim being to reduce the level of complaints and improve confidence in the financial services industry.
It is with this in mind that the FAIS Ombud has launched a new section on its public website, the “Complaints Archive”, that is accessible to all, where we provide summaries of complaints dealt with by the Office.
The Office of the FAIS Ombud aims to provide clear, sound and logical reasons for its decisions, and these decisions, where the complaint has either been settled in favour of the complainant or dismissed, carry lessons that extend beyond the individual parties involved. By making these summaries publicly available, the FAIS Ombud aims to empower not only consumers to understand their rights, recognise common failure points in financial services, and make more informed decisions, but also to provide financial services providers with insights into how they can better comply with the provisions of the General Code of Conduct.
Currently, the Complaints Archive is predominantly settlement-related complaints that cover a broad range of financial products and services, including short-term insurance-related matters, funeral policies, retirement products, medical aid products, and investments. The FAIS Ombud shall also, going forward, include complaints dismissed by this Office that we believe consumers and financial service providers alike can learn valuable lessons from.
The Office of the FAIS Ombud encourages both consumers of financial products and Financial Service Providers to visit the Complaints Archive at: www.faisombud.co.za/complaints-archive.
Should you believe that you have been financially prejudiced because of the financial service rendered to you with respect to a regulated financial product, please lodge a written complaint directly with the service provider. If the complaint remains unresolved after six weeks, you can visit our Complaints Portal at www.faisombud.co.za and select ‘Lodge Complaint’. Alternatively, you may submit a complaint in writing to info@faisombud.co.za. You can also call our Client Care Centre at (012) 762 5000 or Sharecall at 086 066 3274 for assistance in submitting a complaint.
ENDS
