The complaint: Gerrie made a complaint to the BC Financial Services Authority (BCFSA) about her strata manager. Ten months later, she received a letter from the BCFSA stating that it would not investigate her complaint. Gerrie was concerned about the delay and said the letter did not explain why the BCFSA would not investigate her complaint.

What we did: The BCFSA told us it was experiencing an increase in the number of complaints it receives and explained the steps it has taken to improve its process. It triages complaints to categorize each based on risk. This allows it to respond to high-risk complaints more quickly. Gerrie’s complaint wasn’t categorized as high-risk, so it took the BCFSA more time to respond.

The BCFSA also recognized that its original letter did not explain the reasons for its decision in enough detail. For a decision to be fair, it is important to provide clear and understandable reasons.

How we helped: The BCFSA sent Gerrie another letter explaining the reasons for its decision. It also updated its letter template to make sure others are provided with reasons for how decisions are made.

Why it matters: A delayed decision and an inadequate explanation can be unfair even if the substantive decision is correct. Members of the public, like Gerrie, are entitled to timely communication by public authorities.