The Financial Services Authority has published its review of complaint handling in banking groups. They found that:
- Most of the banks assessed had not embedded a culture that focussed on delivering fair outcomes for complainants.
- In most of the banks assessed, the quality of complaint handling undertaken by front-line staff, where complaint handling was not the main function of their role, was poor with inadequate investigation and poor decision-making on the outcome of the complaint and payment of redress (sometimes to the detriment of the complainant).
- Complaints procedures allowed complaint handlers to issue multiple, repetitive responses to complainants.
- There was a risk that the complainant was not aware of their right to refer their complaint to the FOS.
- The FSA found good and compliant practices in parts of some banking groups which demonstrated that it is possible for banks to handle high volumes of complaints and deliver consistently fair outcomes for complainants.
The FSA has published a complaint-handling file review template. It demonstrates the general approach the FSA will use when undertaking an assessment of a firm's complaint-handling files. The template focuses on assessing the outcome of the complaint (as well as the procedural aspects of complaint handling). There is also an explanatory note. This template and note are attached to this link.
http://www.fsa.gov.uk/Pages/Library/Other_publications/complaint_handling/index.shtml
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