You need to make it easy for customers to complain. What an aggrieved customer hates more than anything is a complaints process that’s opaque, complicated and onerous. The regulator couldn’t agree more.

The FCA expects you to treat your customers fairly. Which means you must have a straightforward, transparent and fair complaints process. If complaints handling is not high up on your agenda, now is the time to put it there.

But handling complaints is about more than showing the regulator that you’re treating customers fairly, it’s about actually treating your customers fairly. Your complaints procedure can have a profound effect on how your customers think and feel about your firm.

Good complaints handling is good for business

Turn customer anger into loyalty – Successfully resolve a customer’s complaint and they can become one of your most vocal advocates. Not only do you keep an account, they will be spreading the word that you’re a firm that looks after its customers.

Show you have nothing to hide – Perhaps by hiding away its complaints procedure, a firm hopes a customer won’t complain. Smart firms know a visible complaints process reassures prospective customers and makes you more trustworthy.

Placate the silent unhappy – Not every aggrieved customer will complain. For every person that complains about an issue, there will be many who protest silently by leaving for your competitors. A visible complaints procedure shows all your customers just how seriously you take this issue.

The Course Agenda

Environment and background to Financial Services Regulation

• Rules verses principles
• Fair treatment of complainants
• Finding and correcting root causes

Complains handling procedures

• Eligible complainants
• Dispute Resolution (DISP) Rules
• Company Procedure

Financial ombudsman Service

• Procedures and decision making

Recognising complaints

• The definition of ‘complaint’
• Examples of complaint exercise

Effective implementation

• The complaints journey – customer experience exercise
• Factors affecting outcomes
• Internal factors affecting outcomes
• Creating customer satisfaction