Australian superannuation funds accused of slow response, poor customer support after mystery shopper sting
A study by a consumer advocacy group claims super funds are failing customers but the methods of the ‘mystery shopper’ sting have been called into question.
A mystery shopper test of superannuation funds shows the sector has a long way to go to fix systemic customer service shortcomings, a consumer advocacy group says.
But the methodology of the study has been slammed by the sector, which claims it is making good progress following a scathing review which found chronic delays in paying out death benefits to members.
The report, released by Super Consumers Australia on Tuesday, found the call centres of 20 major super funds provided inconsistent, unempathetic customer support that often fell short of basic expectations.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.The consumer group commissioned Customer Service Benchmarking Australia, a customer experience consultancy, to call funds posing as a prospective customer, a member facing financial hardship, or a family-member of a non-English speaking customer.
The average customer experience score was 49.9 per cent, based on a sample of 1000 calls.
No fund scored above 55 per cent, far short of the 80 per cent “green zone”, which indicates optimal performance for customer experience across sectors.
While the sector has improved in paying death benefits to members in a more timely manner, it was clear that there has been little improvement in customer support across the board, Super Consumers chief executive Xavier O’Halloran said.
Australia’s largest super fund, AustralianSuper, was singled out for only answering the phone within 15 minutes in 10 per cent of calls.
“That’s a pretty clear sign of chronic underinvestment, and that there’s just not enough incentives in the system for them to actually deliver good customer service to their members,” Mr O’Halloran told AAP.
He called for mandatory customer service standards to be implemented for super funds, as is standard in other sectors.
But AustralianSuper challenged the findings of the study, arguing that the survey was taken while the fund was transitioning to a new call centre provider.
“Our customer satisfaction scores right now are the highest they’ve ever been, and our average speed of answer is less than two minutes,” an AustralianSuper spokesperson said.
The Super Members Council criticised the study’s methodology.
The mystery shoppers were not actual members of the funds and calls could not progress beyond member verification, which is important for funds to prevent scams and fraud, a spokesperson said.
Additionally, the study did not test other channels that customers use to contact their fund, beyond phone calls.
Financial regulator the Australian Securities and Investments Commission has been monitoring the sector’s efforts to improve customer service in the wake of the death benefits revelations.
While many trustees have made positive improvements in their claims handling practices, stragglers have failed to implement basic improvements, ASIC found in a June report.
As the $3.2 trillion industry matures from the accumulation to the distribution phase, ASIC has been undertaking a multi-year review focused on improving member interactions with super funds, a spokesperson said in a statement.
A spokesperson for Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino said the government was consulting on better standards for the industry and would be releasing draft legislation soon.
