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UK businesses agree dispute resolution reforms

Senior executives at UK financial services businesses have become more engaged with complaint handling following a review by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

The FCA assessed complaints processes at 15 major retail financial companies, and a working group of the businesses and five trade bodies then considered the results.

The review found the impact on consumers is not always considered when businesses design and implement procedures and there are inconsistencies in the amount of redress offered, particularly for distress and inconvenience.

Companies take a narrow approach to root-cause analysis, which should enable them to fix underlying problems.

The FCA will consult on changing its dispute resolution rules. It will also consider the working group’s recommendation that phone calls to complaints lines cost no more than the basic rate and that it revise how complaints are reported and data on them published.