How to complain about your bank or insurer

Say the word complaint. Firms are required to identify and record complaints, and the obligation is triggered by an expression of dissatisfaction — but in practice a message that says 'I want to make a complaint' is logged as one, while an email describing a problem is often handled as a service enquiry with no clock attached.

Put it in writing and keep a copy. Phone complaints are valid and firms must record them, but you cannot later prove the date or the content of a call you did not confirm in writing. Use the firm's complaints form or email address, and if you do complain by phone, follow it with an email confirming what you said and when.

State four things clearly: what happened, when, what loss or detriment you have suffered, and what outcome you want. The last one is the one people leave out. 'I want the incorrect fees refunded, the default listing removed and confirmation in writing' gives the firm something it can approve; 'this is unacceptable' does not.

Attach the evidence rather than describing it. Statements, screenshots, the policy document, the emails, the call reference numbers. A complaint that is self-contained is resolved much faster than one where the firm has to go looking.

Ask for the complaint reference number and the date the internal dispute resolution period ends. That date is the trigger for your right to take the matter to AFCA, and firms do not usually volunteer it.

Request a written response with reasons. You are entitled to a response explaining the outcome and the reasons for it, and it must tell you about your right to go to AFCA. A response that does not do these things is itself a matter you can raise.

If the deadline passes with no response, that is a complete answer to the sequencing requirement — you can take the matter to AFCA on the basis that the firm did not respond in time. Do not keep waiting politely.

If you are in financial hardship, say so explicitly and use the word. Hardship complaints attract shorter response timeframes and specific obligations on the firm to consider varying the contract, and they are treated as a distinct category by both firms and AFCA.

Lodge online, by phone or in writing. The complaint form asks for the firm, what happened, what you want, and what the firm has said. You do not need a lawyer, you do not pay anything, and you can have a family member, financial counsellor or advocate act for you.

AFCA first checks that the complaint is within its rules — that the firm is a member, that the complaint type is covered, that you are within the time limits and within the monetary limits. Complaints outside its jurisdiction are referred elsewhere rather than simply refused, so lodging is worthwhile even if you are unsure.

The first substantive stage is referral back to the firm with AFCA involved, and a large proportion of complaints resolve here. Firms behave differently once AFCA is on the file, partly because AFCA's fees to the firm escalate with each stage, which is a deliberate design feature.

If that does not resolve it, AFCA moves to negotiation and conciliation, usually by telephone conference. Preparation matters: a chronology, the documents, and a clear statement of the outcome sought. Conciliation is confidential and without prejudice.

If conciliation fails, AFCA investigates and issues a preliminary assessment setting out its view and the reasons. Both parties can respond with further material. Many complaints end here because one side accepts the assessment.

Where it does not, an AFCA decision maker issues a determination. The determination is binding on the firm if you accept it within the time allowed. If you do not accept it, it has no effect on you and your legal rights are preserved — including the right to litigate, subject to the ordinary limitation periods.

AFCA can award compensation for direct financial loss up to published monetary limits, which differ for different complaint types and are indexed. It can also award limited amounts for non-financial loss such as unusual inconvenience or distress, and for costs, and it can make non-monetary directions — releasing a security, correcting a credit report, varying a contract, or requiring an apology or an explanation.

Timeframes vary from weeks for simple matters to many months for complex ones, particularly where an expert report is needed. Keeping your responses prompt is the main variable within your control.

Banking and credit complaints are the largest category: fees and charges, transaction disputes, unauthorised transactions, lending decisions and responsible lending, default listings on credit reports, guarantees, and the conduct of debt collection where the debt relates to a financial product.

Insurance complaints cover claim denials, delays, the amount offered in settlement, disclosure and misrepresentation disputes, cancellation, and the conduct of loss assessors. General insurance, life insurance and travel insurance are all covered; private health insurance is not, and goes to the Commonwealth Ombudsman instead.

Superannuation complaints have their own rules within AFCA, including different time limits and, for some complaint types, no monetary limit. Death benefit distribution complaints in particular have short and strictly applied deadlines from the date the trustee gives notice of its decision.

Financial advice complaints cover inappropriate advice, failure to disclose, unauthorised transactions and fees for no service. Where a firm has collapsed and cannot pay a determination, the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort may provide limited compensation for certain unpaid determinations.

Small businesses can complain, with their own eligibility definition and monetary limits, and complaints about business lending, guarantees and insurance are common.

What AFCA generally will not consider includes a firm's commercial judgement about the level of a fee or premium it charges generally, decisions about who it will do business with, complaints already dealt with by a court or another dispute scheme, complaints outside the time limits, and matters better suited to a court because of complexity or the amount in dispute.

Time limits are the most common reason otherwise good complaints fail. The general rule is within two years of the firm's internal dispute resolution response, or within six years of when you first became aware of the loss — with different rules for superannuation and for some insurance complaints. If you are near a limit, lodge and sort out the details afterwards.

Where AFCA is not the right forum, the alternatives are usually the state or territory tribunal, the relevant ombudsman, ASIC for misconduct reports, or the courts. Reporting misconduct to ASIC is not a complaint pathway — ASIC does not resolve individual disputes or obtain compensation for you, though it uses reports to identify systemic problems.

Lead with the sequence of events, dated. A clear chronology does more work than any argument, because both the firm and AFCA are trying to establish what happened and when. Write it as a list, not as prose.

Quantify the loss. Interest charged, fees debited, the difference between what was paid and what should have been paid, costs incurred because of the firm's delay. A number that can be checked is far more persuasive than a description of harm.

Reference the industry code where one applies. The Banking Code of Practice, the General Insurance Code of Practice and their equivalents are enforceable commitments that AFCA takes into account, and code obligations about hardship, vulnerable customers, claims handling timeframes and clear communication are frequently the strongest ground available.

Be precise about what you want. Refund of a specific amount, removal of a specific default listing, reinstatement of a policy, a variation to loan terms, or a written explanation. AFCA can only direct outcomes it has been asked to consider.

Do not overstate. Complaints that allege fraud or bad faith without evidence get taken less seriously than complaints that describe an error and its consequences accurately. The scheme is not adversarial and there is nothing to gain from framing it that way.

Address hardship separately if it applies. A complaint about a fee and a request for hardship assistance on a loan are different things with different processes, and combining them can slow both. Firms have specific hardship obligations and there is a dedicated pathway.

Get free help if you need it. Financial counsellors through the National Debt Helpline provide free, independent assistance including with AFCA complaints; community legal centres advise on consumer credit and insurance; and AFCA itself provides assistance to people who need help lodging.

Keep going after the determination if the firm does not comply. Determinations you accept are binding and enforceable, and AFCA can report non-compliance to ASIC and to the firm's licence conditions. Non-compliance is rare precisely because the consequences are real.

Private health insurance complaints go to the Commonwealth Ombudsman, which covers insurers, brokers, hospitals and practitioners in relation to health insurance matters. This catches people out because health insurance feels like insurance, and the firm is often part of a group that is an AFCA member for its other products.

Complaints about clinical care in a hospital or by a practitioner go to the health complaints body in your state or territory, and complaints about a registered practitioner's conduct go to the national regulator. Neither is a financial dispute.

Complaints about goods and services generally — faulty products, services not delivered, misleading claims — sit under the Australian Consumer Law and go to the state or territory fair trading body and then the tribunal, not to AFCA. Where a purchase was financed, there can be an overlap and a linked credit provider may be responsible.

Telecommunications complaints go to the telecommunications industry ombudsman, and energy and water complaints to the relevant state ombudsman. Each is free and each follows the same pattern: complain to the provider first, then escalate.

Credit reporting complaints can go to AFCA where they concern a financial firm's listing, and to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner where they concern privacy handling more broadly. Correcting an incorrect default listing is one of the most common and most valuable outcomes AFCA delivers.

Scams and unauthorised transactions are AFCA territory where a financial firm is involved, and reporting to Scamwatch and to police is a separate and complementary step. Reporting a scam does not by itself recover money; a complaint to the firm and then AFCA is the pathway that can.

Where a firm has collapsed, is unlicensed, or is not an AFCA member, the options narrow considerably. Check membership before you act — it is publicly searchable — because dealing with an unlicensed provider removes the single most useful remedy available in Australian financial services.