FSA plans shake up of financial complaints handling

By Elliot Wright, 29th January 2010

The Financial Services Authority has today revealed plans to ensure that financial firms are dealing with consumer complaints fairly.

Under the proposals, firms will be required to publish information on how they handle complaints in the hope that increased transparency will see complaints handling standards across the industry driven upwards.

Firms that offer financial products such as banking, home finance, general insurance and pure protection, life and pensions, and investments, and that receive 500 or more complaints in a six month period will have to publish the following information twice a year:

• How many complaints they have opened and closed;
• The percentage closed within eight weeks; and
• The percentage of complaints upheld

The FSA will then use this information to publish a consolidated list of complaints data covering all affected firms twice a year.

Sheila Nicoll, the FSA's director of conduct policy, said: "We are committed to greater transparency where this will help consumers.  For the first time, people will be able to see how many complaints particular firms receive and how they handle them. 

"We believe that this will help improve how firms treat their customers and provide incentives for firms to deal more effectively with complaints when they are received.  Our more intensive approach to supervision places a greater focus on assessing how firms deal with their customers - and how firms handle complaints is a key part of this."

Last September, the city watchdog ordered lenders to reassess 185,000 PPI complaints that had been rejected

Several firms have already come under fire from the FSA for not handling customer complaints fairly.

Last September, the city watchdog ordered lenders to reassess 185,000 mis-sold PPI complaints that had been rejected after it was found many were not investigated properly.

Claims Financial