Banks told to improve complaints handling

Rights, Scams and Politics

Updated on 18 November 2014 | 1 Comment

The Financial Conduct Authority has identified problems with how banks and insurers handle complaints.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has outlined ways for financial firms to improve the way they handle complaints, after an investigation of big banks and insurers identified a number of problems.

The complants process of 15 major financial retail firms were assessed, though it didn't look at payment protection insurance (PPI) complaints as these are being handled spearately.

What the banks are doing wrong

The financial regulator did acknowledge some improvements had been made, such as more engagement from senior management with complaint handling. Management have also been empowering their staff to make the right judgements and show empathy towards their customers

However, there were still a number of problems that were highlighted. They included:

  • Firms don’t always consider the impact on customers when designing complaints procedure and processes.
  • There are a number of inconsistencies in the amount of redress offered as well, particularly when it comes to matters of distress and inconvenience.
  • Companies take a narrow approach to the root of the problem which affects how they diagnose the issue. 
  • There are weaknesses in some firms’ management information.

Problems like these could be part of the reason that the Financial Ombudsman Service dealt with half a million complaints from 2013-2014 from dissatisfied customers.

Making improvements

All firms involved agreed that changes needed to be made and that customers needed to be put at the heart of complaints handling procedures. Suggested improvements include:

  • Ensuring that calls to dedicated phone lines cost no more than the basic rate
  • Extending the next business day rule so that companies have more time to get customer approval that the issue has been resolved
  • Removing the non-reportable complaints rule so that all complaints have to be reported to the FCA
  • Revising the FCA publication of firms’ complaints, to include things like more contextualised data.

These recommendations are being considered by the FCA, which will be consulting on potential policy changes. Firms and consumer bodies will then be encouraged to share their views and contribute to the process.

The FCA emphasised that firms that weren’t involved in the talks should take the recommendations on board as well.

How to complain effectively

If you wish to make a complaint, it’s best to get in there as quickly as possible.

First of all, find out your bank’s complaints procedure so that you know how your complaint will be handled. Most banks will have them online so it’s within easy reach.

Make your complaint in writing or through email so that your trail of communication is easily traceable. If you do speak to someone over the phone, ensure you make a note of the name and the job title of the person that you spoke to along with the date and time of your call.

If you’re putting your complaint in writing, write “complaint” at the top of your letter and include important details like your customer number or your policy/account number.

Be clear and concise. State why you’re not happy and what you want the company to do about it (including redress if appropriate). Send any relevant documents which back up your argument and keep a copy of any correspondence you have with them as you may need to refer to it later.

The company legally has eight weeks to get back to you so be patient. It may take the full length of time to investigate and resolve the complaint.

If after eight weeks there has been no response, or if they have responded but it's not to your satisfaction, you can go to the Financial Ombudsman Service. 

The most important thing is to keep calm and polite throughout the process so that things can move forward as swiftly as possible.

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