Banking complaints are down, but investment complaints are up, and taking longer to resolve, according to the latest statistics from the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments.
OBSI released its complaint statistics for the third quarter of its 2011 fiscal year (for the period from May 1 to July 31). In that period the dispute resolution service reports that it opened 177 case files, a decrease of 17% from both the second quarter and year-over-year.
“The quarterly drop was attributable entirely to a drop in the number of banking complaints, as more investment case files were opened in Q3 than in Q2,” it says.
OBSI also closed 226 case files during the period, which was a decrease of 12% from the second quarter and a 1% decrease year-over-year. And, it reported that 56% of case files were closed within 180 days of receiving a complaint, with investment complaints continuing to take longer to resolve, “largely due to the level of co-operation from certain participating firms both during our investigation and after we’ve reached a conclusion,” OBSI notes.
During the period, OBSI recommended monetary compensation, or facilitated monetary settlements, in 25% of cases, totalling $570,689. Just 17% of banking files ended with compensation, and 32% of investment cases. And, another six cases (3% of closed files) ended with a non-monetary recommendation or facilitated settlement, such as a change to a credit bureau record. The vast majority of compensation recommendations, $516,508 worth, came on the investment side.