In an article recently from Brokernews it states that the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has released its annual review, showing how lenders performed in terms of disputes brought to the service.

As part of the new ASIC regulations, the FOS has published comparative tables showing the dispute performance of major financial service providers for the second half of the 2009-2010 financial year.

The comparative tables indicate the chances of a dispute against a provider coming before the FOS, ranking each provider with a number relative to the size of the provider’s business. Out of the major banks, Westpac fared the best in the tables, with 11.56 disputes per 100,000. NAB had the highest number, at 31.69. Among non-banks, Resimac performed well with 26.67 disputes, while RHG Mortgage Corporation – formally RAMS- saw 106.55 disputes per 100,000. The median of lenders was 26.58.

Chief Ombudsman Colin Neave said the tables would provide customers with a valuable tool in assessing financial service providers. “We believe that by publishing this detailed information we will be encouraging financial services providers to direct more resources to the right areas so as to create the greatest benefit for consumers who have encountered problems with the product they have bought,” Neave said.

The resolution scheme implemented a new dispute resolution process over the year. It was also subject to new terms of reference, setting out rules for which disputes the FOS can consider. The FOS also reported it saw a 6% increase in the number of disputes for the year, and a 27% increase in resolved disputes. The scheme also identified and resolved 58 systemic issues, which resulted in 36,500 customers being paid out more than $17.5m.