Section 1 Flashcards
(11 cards)
Eligible complainants procedures apply when conducting business with:
• A consumer
• Businesses with fewer than ten employees and a
turnover of less than €2m (a ‘micro-enterprise’)
• Charities with annual income of less than £6.5m
• Trusts with net assets of less than £5m
• Certain SMEs with an annual turnover of less than
£6.5m and a balance sheet threshold of £5m, or fewer than 50 employees
The person responsible for investigating the complaint must:
- Have the power to resolve the compliant or get it resolved
* Not have been involved in the event that led to the complaint
A ‘consumer’ can generally be taken to mean:
a natural person who is also a retail client.
Procedures of the firm must be:
- In writing
- Disclosed:
• At first point of contact or when documentation is first provided
• On request
• When a complaint is received - Unless
• The complaint is resolved in three business days
A firm’s procedures should provide for:
- Receiving complaints
- Responding to complaints
- Investigating complaints
- Notifying complainants of the FOS
Firms should use complaints to identify:
any systemic problems.
A firm must make a record of each complaint received and the
measures taken to resolve it.
Records are kept from the date the complaint was received
- MiFID or UCITS business – 5 years
* Other business – 3 years
Timing of complaints:
Send written acknowledgement of a complaint (and a copy of the complaints procedures) promptly
- Send a final response within 8 weeks of receipt of the complaint
- If the complaint is unresolved:
• Explain why this is the case and when it is likely to be resolved
• Inform the complainant that they may approach the FOS within 6 months.
Transparency as a Regulatory Tool:
Firms receiving over 500 complaints in a given six-month period are required to
publish:
• Total complaints opened and closed (includes all complaints)
• Number of complaints closed within eight weeks
• Percentage of complaints upheld
- FCA uses this information to produce consolidated lists of complaints data covering all
affected firms
Final responses
An eligible complainant can also approach the FOS if a firm’s final
response does not meet their satisfaction.
If a client does not reply to a written response by a firm, the firm can
consider the complaint resolved.
Who must complaints be addressed to first?
The firm
