Welcome to the first edition of The FOS Circular for 2016. We have an exciting year ahead, focusing on our Business Plan to deliver an efficient and effective dispute resolution service, enhancing our stakeholder engagement and continuing to develop FOS’s organisational capabil...READ MORE

Misleading conduct is conduct that leads, or is likely to lead, a person into error. It is prohibited by Australian law. It can occur through statements, acts, omissions or silence, even if there is no intention to mislead. When assessing disputes about misleading conduct, FOS ...READ MORE

Distinguishing personal from general advice – The applicant opened a full service stockbroking account with the financial services provider (FSP) in 2008. He says between January and June 2008, the FSP provided inappropriate personal advice to him to purchase three resources st...READ MORE

Over the next few months we will be in Sydney and Melbourne running various sessions for our Investments and Advice, General Insurance, Accounting and Banking and Finance members. Please visit our online events calendar regularly, where you can always keep up-to-date with our l...READ MORE

The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) Australia wishes to clarify how members may use the FOS logo. FOS is an independent EDR scheme. Consequently, you must not use the FOS logo in any way that implies endorsement of any financial services provider, their products or financial ...READ MORE

Secure Services is FOS’s online member portal, and is an easier, more convenient way of interacting with us. It provides a confidential, fast, and effective method of tracking and managing disputes, receiving updates from FOS and viewing and paying invoices. Registered users ca...READ MORE

FOS has been asked by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner to distribute a letter to all credit providers that participate in the Australian credit reporting system. FOS is advised that the letter is intended to encourage credit providers to engage with credit ...READ MORE

FOS Code is a separately operated and funded business unit of the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) Australia. We support independent Committees to monitor compliance with codes of practice in the Australian financial services industry to achieve service standards people can tr...READ MORE

Diana Ennis, Senior Manager – External Dispute Resolution Teams, never really had law as her first choice. She always dreamed of doing something with food but in an age when food was not the career it is today, she opted for an Arts/Law degree at the University of Melbourne. "I...READ MORE

Imagine this. Every day you help people in financial difficulty get back on top of their financial problems. You might help clients prioritise their debts, negotiate affordable payment plans, find ways to save money on household expenses or explain what debt collectors can and ...READ MORE

This article provides an update on the number of unpaid FOS determinations issued under the single FOS Terms of Reference. Since 1 January 2010: 34 FSPs have been unwilling or unable to comply with 136 FOS determinations made in favour of approximately 192 consumers. The value ...READ MORE

This article summarises some notable systemic issues that were newly identified during the December quarter of 2015. These de-identified matters were reported to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). This update also provides information on a selection of...READ MORE

This is a collection of case studies that have appeared elsewhere in this edition of The FOS Circular. It includes some of the case studies from the FOS Approach to Misleading Conduct in this edition. More case studies are available on our website at www.fos.org.au/casestudies....READ MORE

Disputes received at the Registration and Referral stage Registration and Referral is the first stage in our dispute resolution process. When we register a dispute, we record the basic details and refer them on to the financial services provider (FSP). We have changed our dispu...READ MORE