Help & support
Financial Wisdom Limited1 is a wholly-owned, non-guaranteed subsidiary of Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA).2 Financial Wisdom Limited previously authorised financial advisers and practices to provide financial advice under its Australian Financial Services Licence. In July 2020, Financial Wisdom stopped providing licensee services and no longer has any financial advisers authorised to provide financial advice under its licence.
Fees For No Service (FFNS) remediation program
We’re reviewing records of financial advice customers who paid ongoing advice service fees for ongoing personal advice services between 1 July 2008 to 7 July 2020, to determine if there is evidence that those services were provided. Where we couldn’t find the evidence we were looking for, or it was impractical to look for evidence, we’re refunding the fees.
We also know that some customers’ Fee Disclosure Statements (FDS) contained incorrect information about the ongoing advice service fees they paid, and some customers may not have received their FDS or Renewal Notices. In communicating with customers, we’re notifying them of these issues and ensuring they have accurate information about the fees they paid.
For more information about the FFNS remediation program, download our Frequently Asked Questions or contact us using the below details:
Dial-up remuneration remediation program
We’re reviewing records of financial advice customers who may have had ongoing additional adviser remuneration (dial-up remuneration) deducted from their account between 1 July 2008 to 7 July 2020, to determine whether services were promised but not provided in exchange for that dial-up remuneration. Where we couldn’t find the evidence of promised services being provided, or it was impractical to look for evidence, we’re refunding the dial-up remuneration we believe was paid.
We understand that correct FDS’s and Renewal Notices may not have been given, and dial-up remuneration wasn’t required always included in them. To ensure customers have this information, we’re disclosing all the dial-up remuneration paid.
For more information about the dial-up remuneration remediation, download our Frequently Asked Questions or contact us using the below details:
Important information about the above remediation programs
If you’ve received communication from CBA about the ongoing advice service fees paid or dial-up remuneration deducted from multiple accounts or policies, you may have received numerous outcome letters. If you’d like a single letter restating all the ongoing advice service fees you paid, or all the dial-up remuneration deducted, please contact us using the relevant details above.
Please also contact us if you’ve been sent a Bank Account Nomination Form and are having issues completing or returning it so we can discuss other payment options.
Quality of Advice remediation program
Some customers may have been impacted by the advice provided by certain financial advisers aligned to CBA. The Quality of Advice remediation program is working to identify and contact these customers, assess their circumstances, and provide fair remediation where there is evidence of inappropriate financial advice. We’re committed to restoring affected customers to the position they would’ve been in had they received appropriate advice at the time.
If you’d like more information about the Quality of Advice remediation program, please get in touch with us using the below details:
If you have any concerns that we can’t resolve, you can also contact the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), an external dispute resolution service.
Phone: 1800 931 678
Email: info@afca.org.au
Mail: AFCA, GPO Box 3, Melbourne VIC 3001
Web: www.afca.org.au
CBA is committed to ensuring that customers receive any payment that has been assessed as payable as a result of particular financial advice remediation programs it’s undertaken. Customers with any unpaid remediation sums can refer to the Remediation Unpaid Monies page which provides further information about accessing unpaid remediation.
1Financial Wisdom Limited ABN 70 006 646 108 AFSL 231138
2Commonwealth Bank of Australia ABN 48 123 123 124
