Financial Dispute Resolution Service
Financial Dispute Resolution Service (FDRS) is a free and independent service for resolving disputes and complaints between consumers and the organisations and people that provide them with financial services.
If you have a complaint about your financial services provider (FSP), we recommend you start by contacting FDRS on 0508 337 337 or visiting www.fdrs.org.nz
About this service
Financial Dispute Resolution Service assists consumers and financial service providers who are scheme members address complaints and resolve disputes about any unfair practices or breaches of code of conduct or contract, statutory obligation or any other legal obligation. The scheme can direct compensation for up to $200,000 in total for one complaint.
Any person or business that has been a retail customer of a financial service provider, who is a scheme member of Financial Dispute Resolution Service, can use the service. People or businesses who feel they have been wrongly denied access to a financial service provider’s advice or products can also make a complaint to Financial Dispute Resolution Service.
How the process works
Consumers can make their complaint to Financial Dispute Resolution Service (phone 0508 337 337) in the first instance. Our case managers will take details of the complaint, discuss issues, provide options to resolve it and if necessary help complainants make the complaint to the financial service provider. The financial service provider must be given the opportunity to resolve the issue before FDRS can formally manage a resolution through its disputes process. If parties are unable to resolve the issue themselves, the complaint is “deadlocked” and escalated to the FDRS dispute resolution process for resolution through facilitation, mediation or adjudication if necessary. An adjudicator’s final decision is binding upon the scheme member. All matters are subject to natural justice and confidential to parties.
The cost
It is free for complainants to take a complaint to their financial service provider and the Financial Dispute Resolution Service dispute resolution process.
Where to start
Simply contact the Financial Dispute Resolution Service team on 0508 337 337 or contact us online.
For financial service providers
There are many good reasons for joining Financial Dispute Resolution Service as a scheme member.