Could small complaints give you a big headache? Bovill briefing 22 October 2015 Neil Walkling & Max Young

Transcription

1 Could small complaints give you a big headache? Bovill briefing 22 October 2015 Neil Walkling & Max Young

2 Agenda 1. New complaint handling rules: what s changing and why? 2. Summary resolution communication 3. Challenges to front-line staff posed by the new complaint-handling regime 4. Impact of the wider eligible complainant definition on firms with professional clients 5. Changes to complaint reporting 6. Monitoring and control 7. Takeaways 2

3 New complaint handling rules (PS15/19) What s changing? Why? When? More time to handle complaints informally: 3 business days after date of receipt All complaints will be reportable to FCA even those resolved informally within 3 business days Issue summary resolution communication if resolved within 3 business days including option of going directly to FOS Limit on cost of calls to existing customers (not just complainants) to basic rate Allow easier and speedier resolution of more complaints Improve completeness, comparability, and transparency of data Encourage firms to handle complaints properly first time not fob people off Prevent firms from making money from calls and/or deterring customers from calling to resolve issues 30/6/16 30/6/16 30/6/16 26/10/15 3

4 Summary Resolution Communication Must be issued when the complaint has been informally resolved, without triggering a full investigation or final response letter For example: complaint received Monday informally resolved COB Thursday 4

5 Prescribed content of communication Firm considers the complaint to be resolved Can refer complaint to FOS if subsequently decide they are dissatisfied Website address for the FOS, and further info is available there Whether firm consents to waive 6 month time limit for referring complaint to FOS 5

6 Possible extra content in communication Encourage customer to refer back to us first if still unhappy (but must not undermine key message about right to complain to FOS) FCA envisages generic template, but firms could choose to add personalised content (e.g. about the complaint and how it was resolved) 6

7 What would your clients make of this? Your recent complaint to ABC Ltd Dear Customer [Dear Mr X] The purpose of this notice is to confirm that we consider that your recent complaint to us has been resolved to your satisfaction. If you decide that you remain dissatisfied, you have the right to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), free of charge but you must do so within six months of the date of this letter. The FOS website address is and you can find further information there. If you are not happy with the way we resolved your complaint, we would appreciate the opportunity to put things right for you, so please do let us know as soon as possible by calling XXXXXXX on YYYYYYYYY. We re sorry that you felt the need to complain in the first place, but we re grateful to you for bringing the matter to our attention. We endeavour to provide the best possible service, and welcome feedback from clients about where we might be going wrong and how we can improve. 7

8 Summary resolution statement: minimalist/ tailored? Encourage customer to come back to firm first, if still unhappy Personalise the content of the communication for each customer Advantages Fewer cases reach FOS Deal with genuine misunderstandings before they do more damage Signal to customers that you take complaints seriously Quicker resolution and less hassle for customer? Standard template may cause irritation, especially if expectations not managed Make customers feel special and valued strengthen relationship May be helpful for audit trail, root cause analysis, accuracy of complaints data Disadvantages Was the summary communication statement really your final response? Danger of two-stage process mentality creeping in Disproportionate extra work/effort to resolve minor gripes? Quality control/sign-off issues Risk of breaching the 3-day deadline for informal resolution Effectively a final response letter? 8

9 New challenges for your frontline staff? Identifying More onus to identify which issues raised by customers should be treated as complaints Some (mainly larger?) firms already capture MI on informally resolved complaints for root cause analysis Possible conflicts of interest (incentives/performance management)? Reporting Decide how to categorise/report the complaint System for reporting/collating the data for complaints informally resolved on front line? Summary resolution communication Check that customer is really satisfied with resolution Inform customers and manage expectations about the impending communication On the spot decision on whether to treat as complaint or not likely to be required Role in issuing the communication? on top of resolving the complaint appropriately, or deciding whether it should be escalated 9

10 What is a complaint? (a) Any oral or written expression of dissatisfaction, whether justified or not, from, or on behalf of, a person about the provision of, or failure to provide, a financial service or a redress determination, which: (a) Alleges that the complainant has suffered (or may suffer) financial loss, material distress or material inconvenience; and (b) relates to an activity of that respondent, or of any other respondent with whom that respondent has some connection in marketing or providing financial services or products, which comes under the jurisdiction of the Financial Ombudsman Service. 10

11 Is this a complaint? 1. from client: Hi Amy I don t seem to have received my portfolio statement yet, and it has normally arrived by this time of the month. Could you let me know what s happened to it? Thanks 2. Telephone conversation with client: I m not happy with the recent performance of my portfolio makes me wonder why I m paying you all these fees. 3. Face-to-face conversation with client: their first visit to the office since it was refurbished: I don t like your new layout, I preferred it the way it was. I suppose I ll end up paying for this waste of money through higher charges? 11

12 Is this a complaint? 4. Letter from client: I don t feel the performance of my portfolio is good enough to justify the fees I m paying, so I ve decided to close my account with you and move my investments to Butch Cassidy & Partners 5. Telephone conversation with client about ID requirements: I don t understand why I need to make a special journey into your office to show you my passport and bank statements - you ve known me for 20 years. 6. Face-to-face conversation with client about their experience of dealing with a call centre based in a particular region of the UK: I ve come in to the branch to make the amendments because I ve given up trying to deal with your call centre. Their accents are so strong that I can t understand a word they say, even after asking them to repeat everything several times. 12

13 Is this a complaint? 7. Telephone conversation between client and manager of his local office: Most of your staff are foreigners you should be employing local people. Lots of youngsters round here are unemployed. 8. from client: Hi John Could I have an urgent update on my transaction please? It seems to be taking forever and you haven t responded to the chaser I sent on Monday. 9. Telephone conversation with client about 15 page suitability report he s just received: Do I really need to read this report? I haven t got the time or inclination - you re supposed to be the expert so I should be able to rely on your advice without having to wade through an impenetrable tome that you ve churned out to keep your compliance people happy. 13

14 Is this a complaint? 10. from client: Hi Mary Could you give me a call to discuss the invoice you sent recently? I think you ve overcharged me. Thanks 11. Telephone conversation with client about arrangements for financial advice review meeting: I really don t see why you re insisting that my wife should come along to the meeting. She s not interested in the financial stuff, and is happy to leave it to me to sort out. 12. Telephone conversation with client: By the way, you forgot to attach the document I need to sign with that you sent me yesterday. 14

15 Eligible complainants

16 Eligible Complainants FOS net widens DISP Professional clients and eligible counterparties not considered eligible complainants NEW ADDITIONAL RULE DISP 2.7.9A (from 9 July 2015) the above does not apply to a complainant who is a consumer relation to the activity in which the complaint relates 16

17 Are my professional clients consumers? Consumer = a natural person acting for purposes outside their trade, business or profession 17

18 Eligible complainants Key impacts Client categorisation and take-on Client agreement/tob Complaint handling procedure FOS fees and levies DISP Rules application 18

19 FCA Reporting What s changed? Complaints return form BIGGER! 19

20 Summary of changes to FCA complaint return Informally resolved complaints Included for first time Complaint and product categories mirror those for formal complaints More Granularity New investment types added to return Other changes to complaint return Extra guidance 20

21 FCA Reporting the timeframes New return format: Return due on or after 30 th June 2016 Needs to start recording informal complaints from 6 months before this and ensure you can report right level of detail 21

22 FCA Reporting Important to note Some firms submitting reports of complaints for the first time Firms must maintain records for up to five years No complaints to report is this credible? 22

23 Complaints data inform FCA thematic? FCA will expect number of reported complaints to rise How can you (or FCA) tell whether you have implemented the new regime properly? 23

24 Are your staff getting it right? Staff awareness Training/briefing records Policies & procedures Call listening Testing End-to-end audit trail: Identification, categorisation, summary resolution communication Timing 3 day limit? Client file reviews (e.g. suitability) Evidence of complaints on file? 24

25 Takeaways

26 A few questions to consider 1. How will you train your customer-facing staff on identifying, handling and recording day-to-day minor gripes that don t require an investigation 2. How will staff report complaints they resolve on the spot? 3. Who will issue the summary resolution communication, and in what medium? 4. What will your summary resolution statement look like? 5. How can you minimise the risk of the summary resolution statement annoying your clients? 6. When do you need to start recording informally handled complaints to be ready to report them for the first time? 7. How are you effected by the wider eligible complainant definition, and what are you doing about it? 8. How can you test whether the number of informal complaints your firm report reflects the true picture? 26