A group of consumer organisations has called for the merger of the three finance sector external dispute resolution schemes and the extension of the merged scheme's mandate to cover small business disputes.A submission prepared by the Consumer Action Law Centre on behalf of seven other legal and financial counselling services also recommends raising the financial limits for matters that can be heard and allowing the scheme to hear complaints about debt management companies.The consumer groups are opposed to the establishment of a tribunal, which they say may do more harm than good, and they also oppose the use of a triage service."We are strongly opposed to the creation of a new banking tribunal. The consumer experience of tribunals, which can be overly legalistic, has not been positive," the submission said.The groups said they were "very concerned that a new tribunal may in fact deliver worse outcome for consumers" by adding to the complexity of the system and causing delays."It would be far more effective to enhance and fix some of the limitations of the current EDR system."The consumer groups argue that the current system offers greater accessibility and faster dispute resolution, compared with legalistic tribunals. EDR schemes offer flexibility in resolving disputes, including making decisions on the basis of what is fair and reasonable, not just black-letter law."The current system has the ability to respond to systemic issues and resolve the causes of consumer problems," the submission said.In addition to merging the Financial Ombudsman Service, the Credit and Investments Ombudsman and the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal, the submission calls for the establishment of a statutory compensation scheme of last resort.The consumer groups also want ASIC's powers to be beefed up, including a role in dealing with complaints about internal dispute processes, and a duty to name financial service providers where systemic issues arise.The submissions said a survey of financial counsellors found that 74 per cent supported the merger of FOS and CIO, with a strong feeling amongst respondents that the existence of more than one scheme was unnecessarily complex and confusing. The submission makes several other recommendations for improvements to EDR. One is to improve outreach to under-represented communities and engage with community workers.The consumer organisations are concerned that many consumers who have legitimate grievances against financial institutions do not have convenient and effective access to justice with existing arrangements.They also want EDR schemes to do more to facilitate the provision of documentation from financial service providers.