NORTHAMPTON, United Kingdom, Oct. 9, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aptean has published a new paper examining the expected results from the Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) thematic review into complaints handling.
This review was announced by the FCA's Director of Mortgage and Consumer Lending Subdivision Linda Woodall in September 2013, in response to high referral rates to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). The review's intention: to "identify why complaint handling is not working well for some consumers and address any poor practice within firms."
Woodall at the time stated; "It is 100 percent in the industry's interest to ensure that when customers do complain, they have confidence their complaint will be recognised, that it will be investigated fairly in a timely manner and that redress will be paid where it is due. We are hopeful that this will lead to a reduction in the number of customers requiring the services of the Ombudsman to obtain the appropriate redress."
There has been no communication after the FCA's initial announcement—the review's findings were expected to be released Q2 2014 and again delayed to Q3. In lieu of the official FCA review, Aptean's paper, "The FCA's Complaints Handling Thematic Review," looks at information from the FCA which has not been officially confirmed, and contains suggestions about possible changes as well as updates to the current complaints handling regulations and what firms can do now to be prepared for them, including:
- An extension of the close of next working day rule
- Making all complaints reportable
Aptean's Mark Chambers, Head of Solutions Consulting EMEA, notes that "to keep up with ever-changing regulations, companies need a flexible complaints management system which will enable current regulatory compliance from the word go. It is easy to avoid fines for non-compliance during and after transition periods with a system that reacts quickly to any changes."
Download the paper to understand what the FCA's complaints handling thematic review is likely to contain, and how best to prepare for any changes.
About Aptean
Aptean helps businesses profit, innovate and grow where the work gets done—in the call center, on the floor of the factory, at the end of the assembly line. That's where Aptean's ERP, Supply Chain, CRM and Complaint Management software applications enable nearly 5,000 customers to satisfy their customers, operate more efficiently and stay at the forefront of their industry. Aptean is where software WORKS. For more information, visit www.aptean.com.