Aussies in dispute with banks, insurers, super funds, investment firms and financial advisers lodged 72,358 complaints with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) in the past 12 months, a rise of 3 per cent on the previous financial year.

One of the biggest increases was generated by natural disasters like floods, with 1586 complaints being made – more than double the 653 complaints from such disasters the previous year.

Among the largest financial firms, the top four banks accounted for nearly 20,000 complaints, a rise of nearly 10 per cent, while the top four insurers accounted for about 9400 complaints – up 19 per cent. Overall, the number of licensed financial firms with a complaint lodged against them was 5 per cent lower than in the previous 12 months.

AFCA’s chief ombudsman, David Locke, said the service had seen a sharp rise in complaints about general insurance in a period that included an earthquake in Victoria last September, then the catastrophic storms and flooding across southern states last October and in south-east Queensland/northern NSW at the start of this year.

Complaints about delays in claims handling were a key issue in home building, home contents and motor vehicle insurance disputes.

The preliminary data ‘snapshot’ at 30 June shows that credit cards were the most complained about product in 2021-22, accounting for 13 per cent of all complaints. But, despite topping the list for another year, complaints about cards were down 8 per cent on the previous year.

Personal transaction accounts, home loans, home building insurance and motor vehicle insurance rounded out the top five most commonly complained about products or services in 2021-22.

Financial difficulty-related complaints fell 14 per cent to 4442, from more than 5000 the previous year.

Overall, in 2021-22, successful complainants secured more than $200 million in compensation and refunds. In addition, AFCA’s investigations resulted in remediation payments to consumers totalling more than $18 million.

Have you had to lodge a complaint with the AFCA? Was the matter satisfactorily resolved?