Financial claims surge 45%, led by spike in scam-related claims, says disputes resolution centre

THE Financial Industry Disputes Resolution Centre (Fidrec) handled 2,162 financial claims for its latest financial period from Jul 1, 2023, to Jun 30, 2024, a 44.6 per cent rise from its previous corresponding year.

The rise comes despite a 29.5 per cent fall in enquiries received by the consumer financial dispute specialist to 5,448, from last year’s total of 7,724.

Of the 2,162 claims the centre handled, it completed 1,728 cases, which is 47.4 per cent more than last year. 

The majority, or 64.2 per cent, of the claims handled were lodged against banks, finance companies and credit bureaus, which was once again the category that received the most claims. 

Complaints against this group accounted for 1,387 claims, up from 998 for the previous year. The majority of these were for scam or fraud cases, accounting for nearly 60 per cent of claims lodged against this group. 

While claims rose across the board for all categories, scam-related claims took up the bulk at 38 per cent. The number stood at 829 claims – up 62.9 per cent from 509 claims in the previous corresponding period. 

This was followed by claims related to financial institutions’ practices and policies, which ranked second and accounted for 694 cases or 32 per cent of all claims. 

Of all claims handled, consumers aged 41 to 50 and 51 to 60 made up the largest groups of claimants, as each of these two age groups accounted for 25 per cent of total claims. Meanwhile, consumers aged between 31 and 60 made up 72 per cent of scam-related claimants.  

The average claim amount was S$51,599 while the median claim amount was S$5,420. Among scam-related claims, the average claim amount stood at S$26,674 while the median claim amount was S$5,171. 

Among the completed claims, around 84 per cent were completed at mediation, and consumers accepted settlement offers in more than three-quarters of these cases. Meanwhile, 91 per cent of scam-related claims were completed at mediation and 80 per cent received settlements. 

The rising number of claims indicates an increased need for services that facilitate dispute resolution between consumers and financial institutions, said Fidrec’s chief executive officer Eunice Chua. 

Given this, Fidrec has increased its staff strength and will use technology to prepare for claims of “greater complexity” in the coming year, she added.