Media Room

FCAC Quarterly Statistics

Between October 1 and December 31, 2005, the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) received 6,302 contacts. This document provides a breakdown of the types of contacts FCAC received, the method used to contact FCAC and the location where the contacts originated.

For the period: October 1 - December 31, 2005
Consumer inquiries and complaints
	General inquiries	4,425
	General complaints	994
	Inquiries about compliance matters	7
	Complaints about compliance matters	86
Total consumer inquiries and complaints			5,512
	Media contacts		36
	Requests for publications		510
Total consumer contacts ¹				6,058
Complaints and filings from financial institutions
	Self-reported complaints ²		219
	Filings by financial institutions ³		25
Total complaints and filings from financial institutions				244
Total contacts					6,302
Method of contact
	Phone calls			5,138
	Letters			187
	E-mails			616
	In-person visits			4
	Other ⁴			357
Total					6,302

Note:

In October and November 2005, in collaboration with two other federal government departments, FCAC distributed information about consumers’ rights to open a bank account and cash a federal government cheque for free, in the form of a mail insert. The insert was sent with cheques that were mailed to recipients of the Canada Pension Plan benefit, Old Age Security benefit, Guaranteed Income Supplement benefit, Goods and Services Tax credit and Child Tax Benefit. As a result, FCAC received approximately 16,340 consumer contacts by phone. These consumer contacts have not been included in the third quarter statistics, but they will be included in the 2005-06 fiscal year statistics.

¹	Includes consumer inquiries and complaints, media contacts and requests for publications.
²	Includes consumer complaints that have been escalated to the reportable level of a financial institution’s internal complaint-handling process.
³	Includes documents that financial institutions are required to submit to FCAC, such as public accountability statements and branch closure filings.
⁴	Includes examinations, filings and cases initiated by FCAC.

The following graph provides a breakdown of total contacts received for the period by location.

Inquiries and Complaints Bar Chart

[D]

*The location was not indicated by the consumer.

Consumer Contacts

The following chart provides a breakdown of the types of consumer contacts received for the period. It excludes self-reported complaints and filings by financial institutions.

Inquiries and Complaints Chart

[D]

¹	Includes inquiries and complaints about compliance matters. Excludes self-reported complaints and filings by financial institutions.
²	Includes generic inquiries and complaints that FCAC received, such as requests for regulatory information.
³	Includes miscellaneous inquiries and complaints that FCAC receives in its role as the source for reliable information. It covers topics such as: branch closures, complaint-handling procedures, credit bureau checks, credit counselling, estate matters, exchange rates, interest rates, financial institutions’ legitimacy, privacy and quality of service.

A table providing a detailed breakdown of the number of consumer contacts FCAC received by location and by topic is available. To view this table click here (opens in a new window).

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Compliance Matters

FCAC opens and reviews hundreds of compliance cases each year, covering a wide range of consumer issues under federal financial legislation. If a compliance officer, after gathering the facts of a case, believes that a financial institution may have violated a consumer provision, the case can be forwarded to the Commissioner for his review and a decision. The information below summarizes the number of compliance cases opened and closed between October 1 and December 31, 2005.

For the period: October 1 - December 31, 2005
Total number of compliance cases opened (Includes consumer and self-reported complaints)			305

Total number of compliance cases closed			386
(Includes cases outstanding from previous periods)
	Number of violations of the law		0
	Number of cases of non-compliance to a Public Commitment and a Code of Conduct		1
	Branch closures	- Meeting requests withdrawn	0
		- Requests for meeting not granted	0
		- Requests for meeting received	0

The Commissioner's Decisions are posted on our Web site to provide an overview of the types of compliance issues FCAC has reviewed, and the work FCAC has been doing to protect financial consumers. This also serves to inform consumers about their rights and responsibilities when dealing with their financial institution.

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		Last Modified: 2006-01-27	Important Notices