Complaints to FOS continue to mount

Complaints being filed with the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) are continuing to surge, with the number of investments, life insurance and superannuation disputes rising 77 per cent over the financial year to June 30, 2009.

And, despite some stabilisation in investment conditions over the previous two quarters, complaints have risen by 57 per cent in the calendar year to August 31, 2009, with the bulk of increased dispute numbers being financial planning disputes.

The most significant area of complaints was in managed investment schemes, with the FOS lodging 853 disputes in the 2008-09 financial year, compared to 436 disputes the previous year, representing an increase of 95.6 per cent.

Also significantly higher were complaints relating to margin loans, up 417 per cent over the financial year, albeit from a low base, with 181 disputes lodged compared to 35 in the previous year.

Alison Maynard, ombudsman for investments, life insurance and superannuation, said the increases experienced in the past financial year were on the back of a substantial rise in complaints in the first half of 2008. And the complaints are not expected to abate any time soon.

"Our past experience shows that when there have been disturbances in the markets or particular collapses or events happening, it can take quite some time before all the disputes come through. So I'm not expecting them to drop off really for the whole of next year," Maynard said.

"We're also getting complaints about managed investment schemes, and depending on what happens there, we might get more in that area."