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Loans top small business complaints list: AFCA
Business loans are the most complained about products for small businesses according to the Australia Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), with 1,140 small business complaints – or 40 per cent of disputes – to do with loans.
Small businesses lodged 3,490 complaints against financial service providers with AFCA in 2021-23, down three per cent on the previous year.
Of those, the authority says loans caused small businesses the most consternation.
According to Suanne Russell, AFCA’s Lead ombudsman for small businesses, rising interest rates are partly to blame, Russell says she hopes lenders will “step up” and aid small business owners.
“AFCA will closely monitor the impact of higher rates in complaints from customers in the small business sector,” she adds.
The next most commonly complained about products were business transaction accounts (800 complaints), commercial property insurance (276) business credit cards (201) and loss-of-profits or business interruption insurance (200).
Small business complaints were actually down three per cent in 2021-22, with 3,490 lodged. Those that succeeded in their complaints secured over $18 million.
In the spectrum of AFCA’s complaints handling, however, small business complaints remains a minor concern; in the last financial year more than 72,000 complaints were registered with the ombudsman, with only five per cent coming from small businesses and the rest from individual consumers.
In a positive sign for business owners, business complaints involving financial difficulty declined from 19 per cent to 13 per cent over the financial year. According to Russell, this can partly be attributed to the work from the banking sector to support customers in difficulty.
“A further fall in financial difficulty complaints involving small business would be welcomed by everyone, but we are concerned we may see an increase given the end of COVID government support and the current economic environment,” she says.
