When a complaint is received, the ombudsman refers it to the bank’s internal complaints process to give them an opportunity to resolve the matter directly with the customer.
A dispute is a complaint that has not been resolved to the customer’s satisfaction by the bank and has been escalated for investigation.
The scheme’s Early Resolution Service (ERS) resolved about 91% of complaints before they needed a formal investigation.
According to the report, the ombudsman received 973 complaints about ASB, representing 18.8% of total cases. Of these, 54 were investigated as disputes.
The country’s largest bank, ANZ, received 947 complaints or 18.3% of the ombudsman’s cases, leading to 55 disputes.
Among the remaining big five banks, Kiwibank received 629 complaints which led to 52 disputes, Westpac (626 complaints; 39 disputes) and BNZ (533 complaints; 42 disputes).
Heartland Bank received the most complaints among “medium” sized banks with 270 or 5.20% of cases, which resulted in 24 disputes.
Taranaki Savings Bank (TSB) received 132 complaints, resulting in four disputes.
The increase in complaints applied to all types of disputes, but particularly to lending disputes, which rose 59% compared with the previous year.
Banking Ombudsman Nicola Sladden attributed the rise in disputes to the financial pressures faced by many New Zealanders and an increase in those using artificial intelligence (AI) for help.
The report found financial hardship was a factor in a fifth of disputes.
“Customers are also increasingly using AI tools to understand their rights and prepare their complaints,” Sladden said.
“In addition, these tools are giving users the confidence to pursue their complaints as far as possible.”
The scheme resolved disputes on average in 49 working days, 14 fewer than the year before.
Sladden said the other big trend of the year was the drop in fraud and scam complaints, down 40% compared with the previous year.
She said this was due to the success of efforts by banks and government agencies to raise awareness about how to avoid being duped by scammers.
“Scammers are nothing if not determined and adaptable,” Sladden said.
Michael Heron, Banking Ombudsman Scheme chair, said the scheme continued to be a highly responsive and respected dispute resolution service committed to both preventing and resolving banking problems.
“Demand for our services has remained high throughout the year, reflecting the financial pressures facing consumers and the increasing complexity of many complaints,” he said.