rbs and natwest fined £2.8m for poor complaints handling

robbedofmymoney

FSA fines RBS and NatWest £2.8m

11 January 2011 10:12 am | By Natalie Holt The FSA has fined Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest £2.8m for responding inadequately to more than half the complaints reviewed by the FSA.

The FSA’s investigation found there was an unacceptably high risk that customers may not have been treated fairly due to a number of failings with the way the banks’ approach complaint handling, including delays in responding to customers.
The regulator also found poor quality investigations into complaints, with complaint handlers failing to obtain and consider all the appropriate information when making their decision.




It found correspondence was sent that failed to fully address all of the concerns raised by customers and failed to explain why complaints had been upheld or rejected.
Finally the FSA found that customers were not receiving their Financial Ombudsman Service referral rights within the appropriate time period.
Of the complaint files reviewed by the FSA, 53 per cent showed deficient complaint handling; 62 per cent showed a failure to comply with FSA requirements on timelines and disclosure of Ombudsman referral rights; and 31 per cent failed to demonstrate fair outcomes for consumers.
The FSA’s investigation also found the banks did not give complaint handling staff adequate training and guidance on how to properly investigate a complaint.
Monitoring of complaint handling in branches and the management information produced was found to be ineffective; and there was a failute to ensure complaint handlers properly reviewed complaints.
FSA managing director of enforcement and financial crime Margaret Cole says: “We expect firms to treat customers fairly and that consumers can be confident that their complaints will be dealt with properly. The failure of these two high street banks to deal adequately with complaints put consumers at unacceptable risk and the fine of £2.8m reflects this.

“The poor complaints procedure of RBS and NatWest came to light during our review of complaint handling in major banks. The review showed that banks need to make major changes to handle consumer complaints fairly and the FSA will continue to take appropriate action to ensure these changes are put in place.”

The failings in the complaints handling processes of RBS and NatWest were uncovered during the FSA’s review of complaints handling in the UK’s major retail banks. As a result of the thematic review, five banks have undertaken significant action to improve their complaint handling. The FSA subsequently published a consultation paper on 30 September 2010 on changes to complaint handling requirements, which aims to increase the quality of complaints handling across the industry and increase senior management accountability for complaints.

RBS and NatWest have co-operated fully with the investigation, accepting the findings at an early stage and have agreed to make significant changes to their complaints handling arrangements. The FSA has required RBS and NatWest to work with an independent skilled person to undertake an extensive review of all parts of their complaint handling arrangements. The FSA is also working closely with the banks to ensure that the changes will lead to effective improvements.

The firms agreed to settle at an early stage in the investigation and therefore qualify for a 30% reduction in penalty. Were it not for this discount the FSA would have sought to impose a financial penalty of £4m on the firms.

di3004

Hi Robbedofmymoney

Thanks for posting this up.

Do you have the linkie for this hun?

Cheers.:D;)

robbedofmymoney

di3004 wrote: »

Hi Robbedofmymoney

Thanks for posting this up.

Do you have the linkie for this hun?

Cheers.:D;)

its now on the FSA website

http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pages/Library/Communication/PR/2011/003.shtml

FSA/PN/003/2011
11 January 2011
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has fined Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and National Westminster Bank (NatWest) £2.8m for multiple failings in the way they handled customers’ complaints, responding inadequately to more than half the complaints reviewed by the FSA.
The FSA’s investigation found that there was an unacceptably high risk that customers may not have been treated fairly due to a number of failings within the banks’ approach to routine complaint handling, including:

• delays in responding to customers;
• poor quality investigations into complaints, with complaint handlers failing to obtain and consider all the appropriate information when making their decision;
• issuing correspondence that failed to fully address all of the concerns raised by customers and failed to explain why complaints had been upheld or rejected; and
• customers not receiving their Financial Ombudsman Service (Ombudsman) referral rights within the appropriate time period.

Of the complaint files reviewed by the FSA, 53% showed deficient complaint handling; 62% showed a failure to comply with FSA requirements on timeliness and disclosure of Ombudsman referral rights; and 31% failed to demonstrate fair outcomes for consumers.
The FSA’s investigation also found that:

• the banks did not give complaint handling staff adequate training and guidance on how to properly investigate a complaint;
• the monitoring of complaint handling in branches and the management information produced was ineffective in assessing whether customers were being treated fairly; and
• the banks failed to ensure that complaint handlers properly reviewed complaints taking account of all relevant factors.

Margaret Cole, the FSA’s managing director of enforcement and financial crime said:
“We expect firms to treat customers fairly and that consumers can be confident that their complaints will be dealt with properly. The failure of these two high street banks to deal adequately with complaints put consumers at unacceptable risk and the fine of £2.8m reflects this.
“The poor complaints procedure of RBS and NatWest came to light during our review of complaint handling in major banks. The review showed that banks need to make major changes to handle consumer complaints fairly and the FSA will continue to take appropriate action to ensure these changes are put in place.”
The failings in the complaints handling processes of RBS and NatWest were uncovered during the FSA’s review of complaints handling in the UK’s major retail banks. As a result of the thematic review, five banks have undertaken significant action to improve their complaint handling. The FSA subsequently published a consultation paper on 30 September 2010 on changes to complaint handling requirements, which aims to increase the quality of complaints handling across the industry and increase senior management accountability for complaints.
RBS and NatWest have co-operated fully with the investigation, accepting the findings at an early stage and have agreed to make significant changes to their complaints handling arrangements. The FSA has required RBS and NatWest to work with an independent skilled person to undertake an extensive review of all parts of their complaint handling arrangements. The FSA is also working closely with the banks to ensure that the changes will lead to effective improvements.
The firms agreed to settle at an early stage in the investigation and therefore qualify for a 30% reduction in penalty. Were it not for this discount the FSA would have sought to impose a financial penalty of £4m on the firms.

robbedofmymoney

i reckon Lloyds will be next, and about time too.:j:j:j:j
happy new year to my mate Eric

di3004

Thanks for that Robbedofmymoney, I will post this up OTR later too if its not be done already, thank you.;)

Yeah its possible that will be the case via Lloyds lmao.:D:D

billsavings

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12161181

mjan

Please make Lloyds be next, please make Lloyds be next *crosses fingers*

Alpine_Star

mjan wrote: »

Please make Lloyds be next, please make Lloyds be next *crosses fingers*

According to the Financial Times they will be.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4945bc50-1d74-11e0-a163-00144feab49a.html#axzz1AecCGCoL

machine22

I feel sick.


I’ve been waiting for this fine for a year and this is it. It’s pocket money. Like the FSA fines for PPI mis-selling, that didn’t even scratch the surface of the profit made FROM the mis-selling. Stephen Hester could pay the fine PERSONALLY. I don’t mean this a joke. HE COULD PAY IT PERSONALLY.


-Goole: Stephen Hester + Bonus

RBS customers have been screwed over on Bank Charges, Credit Card debt and PPI. Then when they’ve complained they been F*%Sed over a second time because of the way they deal with complaints. RBS customers are now facing job losses, cuts to public services, benefit cuts, cuts to education, cuts to health, cut to the arts, the only cut they don't face is the VAT increase (e.g. an increase on everything) ALL to pay for the TAX PAYER BAILOUT of RBS a FAILED organisation.


We ALL have to STAND in AWE of STEPHEN HESTER and his GRAND TALENT and GODLIKE GENIUS because if he DIDN’T get his bonus what a MESS this country would be in!

machine22

The RBS bonus pool this year is reported to be One Billion. You work out what the fine is, as a percentage of that.

Coeus

If I were an senior RBS executive I would have worked out (a) the likely cost of a fine imposed by the FSA and (b) the likely cost of implementing procedures to avoid the fine through legitimate means. If (b) were greater than (a), which I expect all other things being equal it was, I would purposefully accept the fine rather than implement the procedures.

End of the day ladies and gents it boils down to the cost:benefit ratio. Ignoring qualitative factors, it is what any good senior manager should do (please keep in mind the vast majority of senior managers adhere to the primary business objective of wealth maximisation) to satisfy their primary duty to the shareholders of the Company.