Drop in number of complaints made to Banking Ombudsman Scheme but wariness about scammers remains

The Banking Ombudsman Scheme may have experienced an annual drop in the number of complaints received from bank customers about scams, but the Banking Ombudsman acknowledges scammers remain a serious concern.

In its latest June-year annual report, the Banking Ombudsman Scheme says overall case numbers dropped by 172 to 5882 from last year's record high of 6054.  

Banking Ombudsman Nicola Sladden says scam-related complaints fell 17% to 694 cases. However, the average reported scam loss rose 10% to $88,000, up from $80,000. And scam complaints averaged nearly 60 a month.

"Scams remain a serious concern, especially given their increasing sophistication and impact," Sladden says. "We are pleased to be part of the new Anti-Scam Alliance, and we continue to push for stronger industry codes and coordinated action to protect consumers."

The dispute resolution scheme says it helped some 5,800 bank customers and facilitated compensation or refunds worth more than $2 million, up from  $935,870 last year. The most common complaints were about personal transaction accounts, property lending and credit cards.

The scheme, which is funded through a levy on its members, can recommend up to $500,000 compensation to reimburse a bank customer's direct loss.

Banking Ombudsman Scheme members include; ANZ Bank New Zealand, ASB Bank, Bank of Baroda NZ, Bank of China (New Zealand) Ltd, Bank of India, BNZ, China Construction Bank (New Zealand) Ltd, Heartland Bank, ICBC, Kiwibank, Nelson Building Society, Rabobank NZ, SBS Bank, The Co-operative Bank, TSB and Westpac NZ.