ANZ tops complaint charts RNZ warmer on merger than TVNZ
ANZ reports the highest number of complaints of any bank, new Banking Ombudsman data shows, and is responsible for more than its market share would indicate it should be.
The Banking Ombudsman scheme has launched a new industry dashboard which shows the number of complaints each bank receives, the time they take to resolve, and how that compares to the bank’s market share.
For its part, ANZ says the data only shows that it is the most proactive at collecting complaint information.
ANZ has market share of 29.6 per cent, but was responsible for 45.6 per cent of all complaints collected by banks, and reported to the Banking Ombudsman for inclusion in the dashboard.
That is ahead of ASB, which has 19 per cent of the market but only 10.6 per cent of complaints, and BNZ which has 18.8 per cent of the market and 13.3 per cent of complaints.
Kiwibank also had more complaints than its market share – at 5.5 per cent of complaints but 4.2 per cent of the market.
The dashboard shows over 27,000 complaints were received by all banks from October 1 until
December 31, 2020.
It provides a breakdown of the issues, products and services customers complain about, such as home loans, credit cards, internet banking or investments.
Most complaints were about service issues.
Banking Ombudsman Nicola Sladden said the purpose of the new individual bank table was not to compare raw numbers, and warned that banks varied in their ability to record complaints.
‘‘Direct comparisons might not give an accurate indication of service levels because banks vary in size, ability to capture complaints, and they offer different products to the public,’’ she said.
‘‘It is inevitable that things go wrong sometimes. What matters is how problems are put right.’’
ANZ spokesman Stefan Herrick said: ‘‘The figures show we don’t sweep complaints under the carpet. Our high number is because we’re the largest bank and we have very thorough processes in place for voluntarily capturing and managing complaints – no matter how small.
‘‘We strongly encourage staff to note down any complaints they receive, so we can identify issues an improve them, and have done for years.
‘‘We believe that by voluntarily capturing complaints, and listening to what customers are saying, we can identify service issues and improve them.’’
Herrick said in the last financial year ANZ made 34 changes to products, services or processes in response to customer complaints. ANZ was the fastest bank to resolve complaints, he said.
He said data collected by independent researcher Comorra showed ANZ did not garner more complaints than rival banks, and that the numbers on the dashboard were raw data collected by banks and given to the Ombudsman.
Sladden said high complaint numbers could signal a strong commitment to capturing and learning from complaints, no matter how small.
‘‘The real value is in the trends, issues, and insights, which will develop over time.
‘‘Banks are working with us on improving the collection and the consistency of this individual bank data.’’
The Banking Ombudsman has also launched an anonymous whistleblowing service bank workers can call to dob in their employers without fearing they may lose their jobs.
Most complaints to banks are about poor service, with a failure to act as instructed being the single most common cause of complaint.
The most complained about financial service they offer is loans.
RNZ chairman Jim Mather has embraced a government proposal to merge RNZ and TVNZ, saying it is ‘‘strongly supporting’’ the development of the policy.
But TVNZ chief executive Kevin Kenrick indicated to MPS he felt it was valid to question whether a merger could increase public concerns about media bias.
Broadcasting Minister Kris Faafoi said the Ministry of Culture and Heritage was working on a detailed business case for the newmedia entity, which would consider its costs and preferred operating model. He said he would report back to Cabinet later this year.
Mather told Parliament’s social services and community select committee that the new public media entity was a ‘‘once in a generation opportunity’’ to create a stronger public media system that would benefit all New Zealanders.
But TVNZ appeared to strike a cooler tone with the select committee, making it clear it was not driving the proposal. Its chairman Andy Coupe told MPS that while it was ‘‘keenly aware’’ of the plan and was providing information and support to officials, it was focused for now on operating as ‘‘a financially self-sufficient, commercial business, consistent with our charter’’.