The Financial Industry Complaints Service (FICS) has published a complaints manual to help financial planners resolve clients’ grievances faster and more effectively.
FICS chief executive Alison Maynard says the ‘FICS Complaints Manual for Members’ will improve transparency in the complaints process.
“In particular, it will help members in dealing with us day to day, as it contains good examples of how to provide an appropriate response to complaints that come to FICS,” she says.
FICS received 1127 new complaints in 2007, 337 of which were financial planning complaints, according to a spokesperson.
This was a decrease from the previous year, where 1375 new complaints were received, 587 of which were financial planning complaints. The spokesperson says the higher number reflected the collapse of Westpoint.
According to FICS, the manual will save members time and avoid any confusion in dealing with a complaint that comes to FICS, which will in turn speed up the resolution time for consumers.
“FICS hopes that the manual won’t be needed by most members because they won’t have a complaint come to FICS in the first place, but if they do then this manual will be a useful tool they can use,” Maynard says.
The manual contains basic information about FICS and its processes, examples of how to respond to complaints and frequently asked questions and other resources.
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