Terrible customer service & obvious lack of staff training.

Tried to withdraw money out of super account due to extreme financial hardship 3th January 2023, claimed process would take 5 business days. 5 business days later I receive an email asking for certain proof of identity, to which I called them & asked exactly what they required. I sat there with a lady that approved my every step of taking screenshots of my Name & Bank details showing Name, Nickname, address & account details. Then I stated that if there were any issues to please call so we can resolve any issues as I was in desperate need of the money to avoid eviction from house. She replied that they would do so & the funds should be transferred within 5 business days. 7 business days later I called again to see what the delay was, was told that they don’t accept screenshots. Asked why they didn’t call as requested, they replied with “You were sent an E-mail”. Went through & sent what was required to which they said the funds will be transferred. I responded that the funds were desperately required as have now received an eviction notice & it’s been 2 weeks since starting the process. They responded with we will transfer the money within 24hours. 48 hours later & still no funds!!!! Each one of the staff I spoke to were hearing about my emergency withdrawal spoke like it’s the first time they heard of the case. Rotten service & will be using another fund.

Suffering severe financial hardship. Submitted a claim 2 months ago, and got an email 2 days ago saying declined as my bills were dated over 30 days old. They were only over 30 days old because the claim has been processing for the past 2 months. They try everything to not pay.

I enrolled in a new auto-rebalancing feature for my superannuation balance and, initially, could not opt out without forced changes in my investment strategy so as to regain control of my portfolio.

To address this, I lodged a formal complaint with ART, seeking a resolution through their Internal Dispute Resolution process (IDR). Despite their initial promise to discuss the matter, they never contacted me, even after repeated attempts to follow up. Instead, the complaints manager simply issued a decision without ever speaking to me, a clear breach of standard industry practice.

Frustrated by this dismissive approach, I escalated the complaint to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA). AFCA then requested that ART conduct an External Dispute Resolution Review (EDR) through their Trustee. However, the ART Trustee also failed to contact me for my perspective and simply upheld the original decision, demonstrating a concerning lack of due process.

Adding insult to injury, the Trustee’s final decision letter contained inaccurate and misleading information. This, coupled with the fact that ART’s CEO was subsequently made aware of the situation but failed to intervene, suggests a systemic failure within ART to address legitimate complaints.

Furthermore, I observed a potential conflict of interest between ART’s Trustee and its operational arm, raising serious doubts about the impartiality of their internal review process. Disturbingly, ART asserted that AFCA couldn’t rule against them because I hadn’t incurred a direct financial loss due to their error. This implies a belief that they are not accountable for systemic failures unless they directly impact a member’s finances.

I believe ART had a duty to self-report this auto-rebalancing issue to ASIC for investigation, especially given the potential impact on other members. Their failure to do so, coupled with their inadequate complaint handling, suggests a disregard for regulatory obligations and the best interests of their members.

ART’s conduct throughout this ordeal appears to violate the principles of RG271, the Dispute Resolution framework, which emphasizes fairness and transparency. Their actions raise serious questions about the integrity of their internal dispute resolution process and their commitment to acting in the best interests of their members.

Therefore, I urge ASIC to conduct a thorough inquiry into ART’s handling of the auto-rebalancing implementation and their complaint resolution procedures. This inquiry is crucial to protect the rights of Australian Retirement Trust members and ensure the integrity of the superannuation industry.

Their fees are high and communication are poor. Not to mention has a technical difficulty.

Good

Prefered Sunsuper now merged with Q Super