Category 05

Complaints Handling

FAIS Act, PPR, and TCF Outcome 6 — complaints management, resolution timelines, Ombud referrals, and root cause analysis.

Applicability gate

A rule's presence does not establish a direct legal duty

Confirm the entity's licensed capacity, actual services, agreement, data-processing role and Schedule 1 status. The audience-qualified publication rows below travel with this library and its public API.

Fais Conduct

Insurance Broker: FAIS and the applicable conduct code govern authorised FSPs and representatives rendering covered financial services. State the firm's licensed capacity and service; do not convert a readiness scan into a legal compliance conclusion.
Uma Binder Holder: FAIS duties apply where the UMA is an authorised FSP or acts through representatives in a covered capacity. Do not infer the licence category or every conduct duty from the UMA label alone.
Insurer: FAIS duties apply to an insurer when it also acts in a capacity requiring FAIS authorisation or through covered representatives. Insurance conduct duties also arise under insurance legislation and policyholder-protection rules; do not collapse those regimes into FAIS.

Key legislation

FAIS Act 37 of 2002
Policyholder Protection Rules
FSCA Conduct Standard

Readiness guidance

Sample a minimum of 30 complaint files from the last 6 months across different categories. Measure acknowledgement and resolution timelines. Review board MI for the last two quarters. Confirm the FAIS Ombud referral is included in all complaint closure communications.

Rules in this category

10 rules

COM-01

Complaints policy — documented and publicly accessible (website, policy schedule)

Critical

Trigger: No written complaints policy or not disclosed to customers
Section: FAIS Act / PPR
Evidence: ['Complaints policy', 'Website URL', 'Policy schedule extract']
Remediation: Draft complaints policy meeting FSCA/PPR requirements. Publish on website and include in policy schedule.

COM-02

Complaints register — maintained with prescribed fields

High

Trigger: No complaints register or register incomplete for > 20% of complaints
Section: FSCA Conduct Standard
Evidence: ['Complaints register', 'Field completeness audit', 'CRM configuration']
Remediation: Implement CRM-based complaints register with all required fields. Audit existing entries.

COM-03

Written acknowledgement — complaints acknowledged promptly with process and contact details

High

Trigger: A complaint is not acknowledged promptly in writing, or the acknowledgement omits the complaints process and contact details; any internal 3-business-day target is monitored separately as service guidance
Section: FAIS General Code of Conduct, s.19(1)(c)
Evidence: ['Acknowledgement log', 'Turnaround time report', 'Automated system records']
Remediation: Implement prompt written acknowledgement containing the complaints process and contact details. Track any tighter internal service target separately without presenting it as the legal threshold.

COM-04

Six-week complaint point — unresolved matters become Ombud-eligible and rights are communicated

High

Trigger: At six weeks an unresolved FAIS complaint is not treated as eligible for Ombud escalation, the outcome and referral rights are not communicated, or an internal 45-business-day service target is substituted for the binding Ombud trigger
Section: FAIS General Code of Conduct, s.19(1)(d), read with FAIS Ombud Rules, Rule 6(b)
Evidence: ['Resolution turnaround report', 'Aged complaints register', 'Escalation log']
Remediation: Track the six-week point, communicate the outcome and Ombud rights when the complaint remains unresolved or is rejected, and keep tighter internal service targets labelled as guidance rather than law.

COM-05

Ombud referral after unresolved or rejected complaint — right, contact details and six-month referral period disclosed

High

Trigger: A final rejection or unresolved complaint notice omits the right to refer to the FAIS Ombud, the Ombud's contact details, or the six-month referral period
Section: FAIS General Code of Conduct, s.19(1)(d), read with FAIS Ombud Rules, Rule 6(b)
Evidence: ['Complaint closure letter templates', 'Sample closure communications']
Remediation: Update final rejection and unresolved-complaint notices with the FAIS Ombud referral right, current contact details and six-month deadline; do not treat every routine closure as requiring an Ombud warning.

COM-06

Root cause analysis — quarterly analysis of complaints trends and themes

Medium

Trigger: No root cause analysis conducted in last 6 months
Section: FSCA TCF Roadmap / PPR
Evidence: ['Root cause analysis reports', 'ExCo meeting minutes', 'Remediation action tracker']
Remediation: Implement quarterly complaints root cause review. Present findings and remediation actions to ExCo.

COM-07

Complaints MI — reported to board/ExCo at least quarterly

High

Trigger: No complaints MI in board packs for last 2 quarters
Section: FSCA TCF Roadmap
Evidence: ['Board pack extracts (last 4 quarters)', 'Complaints MI dashboard']
Remediation: Design complaints MI dashboard. Include in standing board pack agenda.

COM-08

Staff training — complaints handling training for all customer-facing staff

Medium

Trigger: Customer-facing staff without documented complaints handling training
Section: FSCA Conduct Standard
Evidence: ['Training material', 'Completion records per staff member']
Remediation: Implement complaints handling training module. Include in onboarding and annual refresher.

COM-09

Insurer PPR compliance — complaints handling meets PPR prescription

Critical

Trigger: Insurer complaints process does not meet PPR-specified timelines or procedures
Section: Policyholder Protection Rules
Evidence: ['PPR compliance matrix', 'Process mapping document']
Remediation: Map complaints process against PPR requirements. Remediate all non-conformances.

COM-10

Complaints data integrity — data accurate and complete for FSCA reporting

High

Trigger: Material discrepancies between internal data and FSCA-reported complaints data
Section: FAIS Act s.17 / FSCA reporting requirements
Evidence: ['Reconciliation report', 'FSCA submission records', 'Data quality controls documentation']
Remediation: Reconcile internal data against FSCA submissions. Implement data quality controls.