AFCA members to see ‘near real-time’ complaints data

Unveiled at AFCA’s biannual Member Forum on Friday (19 November), the interactive AFCA member benchmarking dashboard is an online platform that is updated daily to provide financial firms with “near real-time” complaints data.

It includes a dashboard that provides percentages on their resolution rate, the non-response rate, the proportion of complaints closed at decision and the proportion closed in favour of the complainant. It also tracks the number of complaints over time. 

The ombudsman service said it hopes the platform will help members:

• Have greater understanding of their complaints
• See how quickly they are being resolved
• Compare their performance against an anonymised set of similar financial firms. 

It will be released to AFCA members in phases during November and December, the body said.

AFCA chief executive and chief ombudsman David Locke said the dashboard could ultimately help financial firms reduce customer complaints.  

“Using the new dashboard, AFCA members can investigate the types of complaints they receive, how well they respond to disputes, and how their performance compares to other firms in their industry,” Mr Locke said.  

“By providing members with greater data and insights, we hope to help financial firms improve customer service and minimise disputes.” 

While the new tool is only available to member firms, AFCA also provides insights into complaints through its public AFCA Datacube, which is updated twice a year. 

The not-for-profit company held its member forum on 18-19 November and featured industry-specific information, complaint trends and insights for AFCA members. 

Last Thursday (18 November) also marked the final day in which brokers could appeal their pre-expulsion notice or resolve their accounts with the body, as per the agreed extension.

[Related: AFCA extends pre-expulsion appeal deadline]