Complaint Processing and Remedial Action

The recent publication of the volume of complaints referred to the Financial Ombudsman and the upheld rates indicate that both the FOS and the FSA will be playing close attention to complaint handling within regulated firms. Volumes were up by 12300 over the ist half of the year representing an additional £7.3 million in FOS fees over the 1st half of 2009.

Whilst upheld rates were down they are still above 50% in general with the worst upheld rates relating to Banks General Insurance category at over 60%, almost certainly attributable to PPI

We will aim to reduce referrals to the FOS by 50% and reduce the upheld rate to below 30%. We will achieve this through a comprehensive review of the complaint handling processes and procedures, introducing a scorecard approach to complaint resolution, ensuring fair and consistent outcomes and by introducing sound and consistent processes that get to the root cause of complaints and assign business ownership for corrective action. Our expertise covers all front and back office functions. We were responsible for implementing processes at Vanquis Bank, delivering  the lowest upheld rate of any similar institution by far at 17%.