The Financial Industry Complaints Service was an independently run body, paid for by plnners, responsible to ASIC. The manner in which they treated complainants, and the arbitrary manner of deciding cases, with no recourse to the complainant has left a nasty taste in the mouth.
In recent time FICS has been absorbed into a Government run system (FOS) catering for many sections of the financial inustry. FOS now employs many of those who worked for FICS.
I believe FICS WAS A FARCE. Perhaps my attitude towards FICS was wrong, but so many members independently reported the same stories in dealing with FICS that I feel they all can't have got it wrong.
I now list some of the problems of which I am aware.
1. The problem of limit goes back as far as 23/02/2007 when a meeting between WIG and ASIC, Jeff Lucy advised Westpoint investors the claim limit was less than $100, 000, and handed out a document to that effect. That meant if the investment was $100,000 then the investor could not make a claim. Presumably many investors, who were not WIG members, that went to ASIC would have been given this information. They would never have found out they could make a valid claim.
2. FICS took an inordinate amount of time to process any claim.
3. Under FICS rules, members who received payment from FICS have had their claim reduced by the amount of interest received.
4. Planners often offered investors only a token amount of compensation with the blessing of FICS.
5. In many cases FICS found in favour of investors where the planner had left the industry or lost their AFSL for other reasons. In such a case the investor had no hope of getting their money.
6. In a small number of cases the planner has simply refused to pay, and no action has been taken because FICS has no legal powers. However, ASIC does have the powe to not renew the AFSL in such cases. I have no knowledge this ever happened.