We believe our first responsibility is to the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa and to the statutory mandate which created our organisation. We are completely independent and deal with all disputes fairly and impartially.
Our service is for people from all backgrounds. We will look at the facts of each complaint, not at how well the case is presented. No one should need any special expertise or professional help to bring their complaint to us.
We aim to give clear, sound, and logical reasons for our decisions – any fair-minded person should understand why we reached a particular conclusion.
We are not bound by formal and rigid procedures to resolve complaints and we aim to be flexible in our approach.
We will engage all concerned to help both consumers and financial services providers understand their respective rights and responsibilities. Our ultimate aim is to reduce the level of complaints and improve confidence in the financial services industry.
We must constantly strive to educate both ourselves and those we serve about our services and make our services easily accessible. We will ensure all parties in a dispute have an opportunity to present their case. In doing so, we will ensure the dignity of those we serve by treating each with utmost respect and courtesy.
We must always build a collegiate base that is diverse and equitable and encourage contributions to our core business. We are responsible to ensure that each of our colleagues is regarded as an individual and experiences an affirming and empowering learning environment.
We must be mindful of the ways in which we help our colleagues fulfil their family responsibilities. We must encourage each other to communicate our opinions, feelings and indeed, our grievances in an environment conducive to amicable resolution, not recrimination. We will support each other, to be innovative, to exercise reasonable initiative, and to share our learning.
We are responsible to the communities in which we live and work and to the larger international community. We must be good citizens and support civic initiatives.
We believe our final responsibility is to industry. Business must make a sound profit, underpinned by good corporate governance and moral values. We must explore and suggest fresh approaches to consumer services in the course of our enterprise.
We believe when we operate according to these principles, we will all realise a significant improvement.