Can I Get a Refund If My Adviser Charged But Did Not Deliver a SOA?

Fee-for-no-service, consent failures and the refund letter that works

Which Fee Did You Pay — One-Off or Ongoing?

A one-off SOA preparation fee pays for analysis and documentation already promised. If no SOA was ever delivered, that fee generally lacks consideration and should be refunded unless the licensee proves substantive work with another record such as a valid ROA. An ongoing advice fee is different: it pays for annual review, monitoring and access, deducted monthly or yearly from super or bank. If reviews never happened, statements never arrived or consent was never renewed, each deduction is separately recoverable. Pull bank and super statements first and tag every advice deduction with date and amount — see our fees guide and ongoing-fee guide.

ASIC fee-for-no-service actions from 2024-25, including bans over Crown Wealth-type conduct, confirm regulators treat undelivered-service deductions as breach of s912A efficient-honest-fair obligations, not just poor service. Your SOA or ongoing service agreement must state services in dollars; vague percentages without service logs favour your claim.

Consent Rules That Decide Refunds

Since DBFO reforms, ongoing fee arrangements require your renewed written consent annually within 150 days of the anniversary. Without valid consent the arrangement terminates and further deductions must cease. Pre-DBFO fee disclosure statement and opt-in rules similarly required annual disclosure. If the licensee cannot produce your signed consent for the deduction year, the deduction was unauthorised. Request in writing: the signed consent, the annual fee disclosure, and the service delivery log for each year charged.

For one-off fees, the test is delivery: was personal advice documented as an SOA or valid ROA under RG 175 before any product was implemented? If advice was implemented with no SOA and no qualifying ROA exemption (further advice, no buy/sell, small investment under $15,000 per ASIC INFO 266), the implementation itself may breach s946A — strong refund plus remediation ground.

Refund Letter — What to Send the Licensee

Write to the licensee complaints officer, not just the adviser: identify each deduction, state no SOA or service was delivered for that period, cite fee-for-no-service and request refund with interest plus confirmation deductions have stopped. Attach bank/super statements, any SOA or nil-SOA statement, consent records and your timeline. Set 30 days per RG 271. Keep tone factual — one page of dated amounts beats pages of complaint. If the adviser left, the licensee at the time remains responsible — see adviser left guide.

Check your document for gaps first with our free checker — a missing fee-breakdown or missing-service finding strengthens the IDR letter.

IDR to AFCA — Interest, Costs and Outcomes

If IDR rejects or lapses after 30 days, lodge with AFCA free: attach IDR final response, statements, SOA or proof of non-delivery, and consent records. AFCA can award refunds with interest, correct super balances, and order process fixes. Dixon-type advice determinations averaged around $330,000 in sampled matters with $35.6 million awarded overall, showing AFCA will quantify advice loss, not just refund fees. Most matters conciliate early when statements clearly show deductions without services.

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Preventing Repeat Deductions

Withdraw ongoing-fee consent in writing immediately, notify your super fund to block adviser fee deductions, and check anniversary dates yearly. Do not sign new consent until the refund resolves — signing can be read as ratifying service. Keep the AFCA lodgement receipt; funds act faster once a case number exists.

Frequently Asked Questions

How far back can I claim?
AFCA generally covers 6 years from awareness — pull 7 years of statements since advisers must retain records 7 years. Older systemic matters may still interest ASIC.

What if I received a ROA instead?
A valid ROA can justify a smaller fee — check it meets ASIC INFO 266 content rules. An invalid ROA does not cure a missing SOA.

Will I get interest?
AFCA routinely adds interest and restores super earnings lost to unlawful deductions — claim both explicitly.

Should I also report to ASIC?
Yes in parallel for fee-for-no-service patterns, but compensation comes via AFCA, not ASIC. See how to report to ASIC.