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Banking Ombudsman media release dated 5 June 2009: ANZ customers accepting ING offer can also complain to Banking Ombudsman
‘We have already completed the investigation and determination of more than a hundred complaints of this kind’ said Liz Brown, Banking Ombudsman. ‘In many cases ANZ has agreed or has been required to pay compensation to its customers. It is only fair that those who complain later should have the same opportunity as those who complained earlier.’
She said she may recommend compensation in cases where she is satisfied that customers were given misleading information, or no information, about important features of the investment and would not have invested if they had been properly informed. She may also recommend compensation when customers were advised to put a disproportionate amount of their savings into the ING funds, or the advice was inappropriate in other ways.
Compensation can mean that ANZ is required to buy back some or all of investors’ units in the funds at the original price. Interest at term deposit rates can also be required in cases where, if investors had received proper advice, they would not have invested in the funds but would probably have put their money on term deposit.
It is a condition of ANZ’s offer that all investors who want to complain, even those who have already complained to ANZ or to the Banking Ombudsman, must fill in a statutory declaration form and sign it in front of a JP, lawyer or other person authorised to take statutory declarations. The Banking Ombudsman and ANZ have both offered to help to those who may find this task difficult.
‘I am pleased that ANZ has acted fairly towards its customers in leaving open the option of complaining to the Banking Ombudsman, but I am disappointed that ANZ’s requirement for a statutory declaration puts an unnecessary obstacle in the way of potential complainants,” said Liz Brown. “It is one of the fundamental principles of an ombudsman scheme that it should be easy to make a complaint.’
ANZ investors with questions or needing help can contact the Office of the Banking Ombudsman on freephone 0800 805 950 or at help@bankomb.org.nz”