The Financial Industry Complaints Service (FICS) panel has upheld the first claims from Westpoint investors and has ordered the property group to pay up.

FICS says the three complaints are the first formal determinations in relation to Westpoint and more will follow soon.

CEO Alison Maynard says the panel has ordered the financial services provider to make payments to the consumers.

“FICS has already resolved 32 Westpoint cases through negotiated settlement, worth $1.8 million in total,” she said.

The parties involved or the individual amounts of compensation have not been divulged.

FICS has received 378 written complaints from consumers since the Westpoint group collapsed in 2006. Of those, 230 have progressed to investigation and represent $10.6 million in lost funds.

Ms Maynard says the results show that FICS is a viable alternative to court action.

“FICS is free to consumers and takes less time to resolve disputes than the alternative of taking legal action.”