Complaints handling

4 April, 2014

We’ve amended the example complaints procedure in the Complaints Guidance section of the Handbook  to reflect the timeframes applied by LeO and already referenced earlier/elsewhere in the Guidance. You should ensure that your own procedures take account of those timeframes.

You might be interested to read the Legal Ombudsman’s Guide to Good Complaints Handling which identifies some commercial incentives for good practice:

• Enhancing its reputation and therefore improve customer retention and acquisition, and potential price premium;
• Providing customer intelligence which can identify areas for commercial improvement; and
• Reinforcing a firm’s internal culture, increasing staff retention rates (and thus reducing costs).