Handle with care

Paul Hunt, Platform’s Head of Marketing

Complaints only happen to other companies don’t they? If this is your attitude then think again. None of us know what is round the corner and having sound procedures in place to deal with dissatisfied customers is essential for everyone in business.
Whether it is an error, alleged mis-selling or simply a difference of opinion, all businesses have to face up to complaints.
There are certainly plenty in circulation. Just think of the current campaign to encourage bank customers to complain about bank charges. Or, the furore over payment protection insurance. And, endowment claims are ongoing – and continue to provide rich pickings for claims management companies.
Complaints handling is a key part of the FSA’s Treating Customers Fairly requirements, but the very fact that the regulator wants principles rather than prescriptive rules can mean it is difficult to know exactly what is expected.
But, a wishy washy complaints procedure only brews up problems for the future. If you can reach agreement and achieve a resolution then everyone is happy. If not, then the customer may choose to go to the Ombudsman or start litigation.
Too many companies may set up a complaints procedure and then because it is rarely used, simply forget about it.
But, keeping it “live” is vital – you should review the process regularly and have dry runs in training sessions.
And, complaints are not just the domain of compliance staff. There needs to be a sense of corporate responsibility rather than the view that if a letter, call or email arrives then it can just be passed on to someone else. At Platform, each and every member of staff is required to undergo refresher training in complaints handling procedures on an annual basis.
Knowing there are clear timelines in place and providing these are set sensibly, should enable you to exceed these. For example, Platform like other companies, is obliged to provide customers with a response within 20 days but in almost all cases we would be able to respond far quicker.
Customers should know what they can expect – for example, an acknowledgement could be provided within five working days and a full response within 20 days – or an explanation of why more time is needed.
Customers need to know how to get in contact and should be reminded of their right to use the Financial Ombudsman Service and that they must do this within six months of a company’s final response.
One fact is clear – the FSA is not a soft touch regulator. It regularly fines businesses of all sizes and subsequent negative press and loss of reputation can be hugely damaging. And, the mortgage sector has not been immune from this.
No one likes admitting to being in the wrong. But complaints do provide an opportunity to improve service and of course, highlight any weaknesses. So, although once a complaint has been resolved it may be tempting to try and forget about it, further analysis is invariably useful.
If you can find out the root cause – and tackle it - then this has to be good news for the business. And, if more customers are satisfied then they will recommend your company for all the right reasons.

Richard Coulson, CEO of Home of Choice, on lenders complaints procedures.

Not only do we support the FSA principle of treating customers fairly, we also apply the same principle to brokers.

Treating brokers fairly means competitive commissions, a wide choice of lenders and providers to meet the diverse needs of their clients, ease of business processing, fair and transparent contracts, significant investment in technology and prompt payment of fees and commissions.

Our proposition has attracted significant numbers of high-producing brokers, and to support the volumes of business being written, it is essential that we facilitate a smooth interaction between manufacturers and advisers.

We recognised that disruptions and distractions arising from disputes and conflict between broker and manufacturer would not be conducive to creating a high performance business, and took action right from the start to mitigate any such problems.

We created Home of Choice by listening to what brokers want and need from a network and converted this wish list into a sound business proposition. Starting with a blank piece of paper, we discovered that when it came to the relationship with the manufacturer, the professional businessmen we were attracting were looking for more from the manufacturers than a series of service standards. The three key issues were :

* dedicated contacts so that issues could be resolved quickly.
* appropriate commission
* prompt payment

At a time when other networks were naming and shaming lenders with published league tables and high profile panel terminations, our passionate, dynamic advisers told us they were not interested in mud-slinging and name-calling. They took the view that this disreputable approach sacrificed a potential healthy business relationship for the sake of a network’s ego and publicity machines.

Instead we focussed on providing brokers with access to the manufacturers. Just as we created Home of Choice by listening to brokers, we encourage manufacturers to do the same and have created a number of business and social events to bring brokers and manufacturers together. It might sound out-of-touch with today’s fast moving business environment but constant dialogue between the two has been key to Home of Choice’s business proposition.

As well as the dedicated lender and provider contacts, Home of Choice provides regular opportunities for brokers to have productive and constructive dialogue. We are just about to embark on our conference tour which will be attended by more than 20 panel members to share their latest news and collect feedback from the coal face.

I’d like to think that our initial groundwork has been so successful that we have never had to test our more formal grievance procedure with lenders and providers. Our constructive and respectful approach - which was considered quite revolutionary - appears to have successfully facilitated a mutual respect between advisers and manufacturers.