Financial complaints authority defends track record after HSBC scam
Scam victims say the saga raises governance questions about how the complaints body is run.
The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) has defended its track record in engaging with victims as it is elevated to a key role in the nation’s renewed fight against scams.
Amid a rising tide of misconduct and AI-generated reports, the ombudsman received a record number of complaints last financial year, causing delays and triggering staunch criticism from scammed HSBC customers who feel they were failed by its processes.
“Some victim-survivors have described feeling pressured by their AFCA case workers to accept settlements that did not reflect their losses because they believed there was no realistic alternative,” Scam Victims Alliance (SVA) president Harriet Spring said in a letter, viewed by Capital Brief and sent to AFCA on Thursday.
Last month, HSBC was ordered to pay $35 million for its failure to protect customers from systemic fraud.
