On Thursday 24 October 2024, the Office of the FAIS Ombud launches its Annual Report for the 2023/2024 Financial Year.
The launch of this year’s annual report will be virtual utilising this Office’s social media platforms, together with a webinar highlighted by the Ombud that will provide information on the performance of the Office of the FAIS Ombud during the financial year as well as its financial affairs.
In his foreword, the Ombud, Advocate John Simpson, highlighted the progress made by the Office of the FAIS Ombud in light of its historical challenges: “The previous Annual Report reflected the numerous challenges faced by the Office and its plans to surmount them. I am very pleased to report that significant progress has been made, and the Office is on a firm path to providing the world-class services that its stakeholders, especially consumers, deserve,” said Advocate John Simpson.
Advocate John Simpson went on to state that “The Office introduced numerous workflow and case management processes that have significantly improved the historical challenge of identifying and prioritising cases. The Office subsequently identified hundreds of active cases on our system which were up to ten years old and had never been successfully resolved. All these matters were subsequently resolved and closed. The Office sincerely regrets the delay in assessing these matters and apologises to each of the consumers affected. The Office strives to achieve its commitment to resolve cases as quickly as possible. The improved processes also enhanced the identification of cases which needed to be referred to other ombudsman offices or entities.”
Advocate John Simpson also highlighted the implementation of the Premature Complaints Process as well as the identification of vulnerable complainants as examples of processes that have contributed to improved complaints handling. “To align with ombuds office practices locally and internationally, the Premature Complaints Process was introduced. Before formally accepting a complaint, the FSP is now granted an opportunity to resolve the dispute directly with the complainant. This process has resulted in a significant increase in matters settled directly by the FSP and obviated the need for further investigation by the Office. Valid and clear claims are now settled quickly, which benefit consumers. Following a recommendation by the Ombud Council, a vulnerable consumer policy was created and implemented to assist vulnerable consumers with their complaints quickly and efficiently. For example, a complainant who is blind or struggles with literacy will be assisted verbally and telephonically and not be required to complete forms. Complaints by elderly consumers are prioritised.”
The Office received 4 501 complaints within its jurisdiction and resolved 5 046 cases for the year (resolved cases include active cases carried over from the previous financial year). In 35% of the resolved cases (including premature complaints), an award was made, or a settlement was reached, and R39.5 million in compensation was awarded to consumers. The justiciable cases were closed within an average of 63 working days. We anticipate a substantial improvement in the average closure time with the new systems and processes that we implemented. The case processing and adjudication staff are congratulated for their dedication in resolving some long-standing cases in our system and assisting the consumers.
The Office achieved 82.6% of its Annual Performance Targets (19 of 23), an improvement on the previous year. A single invoice out of 592 was paid a few days outside the 30-day period, resulting in underachievement. Two employment equity targets were not achieved due to staff resignations, affecting the ratios at the time. In the interests of cost-saving and efficiency, the Office combined the various governance committees into two committees. This resulted in fewer meetings being required compared to the target. The Office met all its targets for its core mandate measurements and exceeded the targets in most of them. Ongoing efforts are being made to achieve 100% of the targets.
The Office achieved a Clean Audit, an exceptional achievement within the sphere in which the Office functions.
During the 2023/24 financial year, the Office of the FAIS Ombud received 10 574 new complaints. This is lower than the 10 970 complaints received for the corresponding period during the 2022/23 financial year and represents a 3.61% decrease in the number of complaints received over the preceding financial year. In addition, 43% of all complaints received fell within the mandate of this Office. This resulted in 4 501 complaints being referred to the Case Management department for investigation.
Overall, the total number of justiciable complaints resolved, which included those carried over from previous financial years, was 5 046. The number of complaints settled during 2023/24 was 1 772. As a result of this, the Office of the FAIS Ombud was able to produce a settlement ratio of 35% compared to the 29.24 achieved during the 2022/23 financial year. The overall settlement value for the 2023/24 financial year was R39,525,923, an increase from R39,133,121 in 2022/23.
On average, the total number of complaints closed for the year, 11 092 (which included 6 073 Non-FAIS – 27 carried over = 6 046. Plus 5 046 justiciable complaints), were closed within 34.40 working days. In respect of justiciable complaints, the average number of working days to closure was 63.33, slightly over two months.
The dismissal of complaints is only considered after significant due diligence has been undertaken during the investigation, and the Ombud Office is required by law to provide detailed reasons for any decision made, including complaints dismissed. Any party that feels aggrieved by the decisions taken by this Office can approach the Financial Services Tribunal for the matter to be reconsidered. During the 2023/24 financial year, a total of 76 applications for reconsideration were made to the Financial Services Tribunal. This was lower than the 104 made during the previous year and is due to improved quality control measures implemented within the Case Management Department.
Of the 76 matters filed on as of 31 March 2024, 71 of those applications were dismissed with only four (4) referred to this Office for further investigation. This reflects a favourable rate of agreement (94.67%) by the Tribunal. Therefore, whilst a total of 4 133 complaints were dismissed during the 2023/24 financial year, the positive affirmation of this Office’s decisions by the Tribunal confirms this Office’s commitment to the diligent investigation of complaints in accordance with its mandate to provide independent and impartial rulings.
In respect of complaints referred to other fora, a total of 5 087 complaints were referred to other ombud schemes, which was higher than the 4 301 referred during the 2022/23 financial year. This is in accordance with the commitment of the Office of the FAIS Ombud, which is to ensure that even where it is unable to be of assistance, the complaint of any person submitted to this Office will be carefully considered and that, where possible, the complainant will be referred to the correct forum to receive the assistance required. All this is part of our continued commitment to service and to enhancing access to justice for all South Africans.
The Ombud, Advocate Simpson, conveyed his thanks to the Minister, and the Governance Committee members for their continued support and assistance to the Office, and to FAIS Ombud
staff, for sharing his vision of achieving excellence, as well as for their ongoing dedication and commitment to serving the public and the Office’s stakeholders.
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