2015 - 2016

Investment

Managed fund

Mrs M invested in a long-term portfolio with her bank before moving overseas. The bank recommended a portfolio it believed best suited her needs. Mrs M claimed that four years later, the bank told her it couldn’t continue giving her investment advice as she didn’t live in New Zealand. She was distressed about this. Shortly afterward, the bank clarified its position and confirmed it could actually still provide her with investment advice.

Mrs M complained to our office about the investment appearing to be inappropriate because she lived overseas. She also complained about the bank’s poor handling of the matter.

We found that the investment was appropriate as well as profitable for her, and the bank had acted appropriately when considering a suitable plan for Mrs M. 

There had been a misunderstanding about the permanence of her move overseas and whether the bank was still able to advise her. However, the fact she lived overseas didn’t affect the appropriateness of the investment because banks can and do provide investment advice to overseas customers.  The bank had gone back to Mrs M after the initial contact to clarify this.  

We found any misunderstanding following the first call was corrected quickly by the bank, so any distress attributable to its incorrect advice to her was short-lived. However, we thought Mrs M experienced some service delays, causing frustration and impacting her confidence in the service she received. The bank acknowledged this, and offered $750 as compensation for delays. We recommended to Mrs M to accept this offer, which she did.