[Weekly Wrap] Complaining about a lack of complaints

There's been a bit of news around this week that the uncharitable among us could consider self-serving.

Friday, April 19th 2013, 2:00PM

by Susan Edmunds

First, we had Financial Services Complaints complaining that it wasn't getting enough complaints. Chief executive Susan Taylor said people with legitimate complaints did not realise that there were dispute providers available to them. Although her organisation has reported a 100% increase in the number of complaints received compared to six months ago, she says there are still more that should be coming in.

Some advisers have taken issue with this and suggested that it is unfair that an organisation they choose to subscribe to - FSCL is not without competitors - would appear to be drumming up complaints against them.

FSCL has made notably more noise and appears to be more media-savvy than the other dispute resolution schemes but whether that will get them more financial services provider clients remains to be seen.

The other issue that needs to be dealt with carefully is under-insurance. Life insurance is something a lot of people don't really like to think about, let alone discuss, so encouraging a widespread debate about this country's terrible rates of protection is difficult.

And when it's driven by life companies, those same people who'd hope to sell more policies, it just looks like an advertising campaign. But this is a real issue and it's one that needs broader attention. People without adequate insurance often rely on the taxpayer if the worst happens.

David Whyte has launched a Campaign for Financial Protection, which he is hoping will get traction beyond the industry. Perhaps, as Philip suggested in his blog today, we need to think of a better way to describe it than underinsurance?

In other news, Good Returns was told on Friday afternoon that all but one of TOWER Investments' asset management team is out of a job, gold had a dramatic drop, the FMA has started taking advisers to the disciplinary committee, as well as reminding advisers that there has to be a better reason for recommending a product than its price, and the Government has been blasted again for its gleeful advertising of the Mighty River Power share offer.

There have also been movements on the people front and a new job advertised.

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