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Financial Sector Regulation Act, 2017 (Act No. 9 of 2017)

Chapter 14 : Ombuds

Part 4 : General provisions

211. Applicable ombud schemes

 

(1)

(a) If there is no recognised industry ombud scheme or statutory ombud scheme that makes provision for the resolution of complaints about financial products or financial services of a particular kind, the Ombud Council may, after consulting relevant ombud schemes, designate an ombud scheme, or two or more ombud schemes, to deal with and resolve complaints about products or services of that kind.
(b) If the Ombud Council designates two or more ombud schemes in terms of paragraph (a), it must also determine the elements of the complaint to be dealt with and resolved by each of the designated schemes.
(c) The Ombud Council may so designate an ombud scheme on its own initiative or on application by the scheme or a financial institution that provides or proposes to provide financial products or financial services of that kind.

 

(2) If the Ombud Council designates an ombud scheme in terms of subsection (1) to deal with and resolve complaints about financial products or financial services of a particular kind—
(a) each ombud for the designated ombud scheme—
(i) has the power and the duty, despite anything in any Act or the governing rules of the ombud scheme, to deal with and resolve complaints about the products or services, in accordance with the designation; and
(ii) must deal with and resolve those complaints in the same way as it deals with and resolves other complaints to which the ombud scheme relates; and
(b) the governing rules of the ombud scheme must be read as including an obligation on the financial institution to comply with the determination of the ombud on those complaints.

 

(3) If a financial institution provides financial products and financial services and there is a recognised industry ombud scheme that provides for the resolution of complaints about financial products or financial services of that kind, the financial institution must be a member of that industry ombud scheme.

 

[Section 211 to take effect on 1 April 2020, per Notice No. 1130 of 2019, GG 42677, dated 30 August 2019]