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Complaints Handling: Final Response Letters that get the Right Results
Overview
The FCA’s complaint handling rules exist to provide a framework of what should be done and when. They provide consistency and a minimum standard for firms to work to. But what they don’t do is tell firms how best to approach and resolve complaints, nor do they talk about the common mistakes firms make that have a massive impact on both them and the customer.
All too often firms can feel lost or confined by a process that doesn’t tell them ‘how’ to resolve issues that means the best for them and their customer. It leaves firms feeling deskilled - never sure how to properly resolve a complaint and communicate this to the customer in a meaningful way. And it leaves customers feeling frustrated, resulting in more complaints being referred to the ombudsman that necessary.
If you handle complaints or customer queries, or have oversight for these areas in a FCA regulated firm, this course will help you.
By the end of this workshop you will be able to:
- Understand why you need the Final Response Letter to work for you
- Know the key steps to take before writing the letter, to make sure you understand your customer and their complaint
- Avoiding common mistakes when it comes to tone, length and content of the Final Response Letter
- Have the best chance of resolving the complaint with the business and reducing unnecessary referrals to the FOS as a result of poor communication
This very practical course will help you to understand what makes for a successful Final Response Letter, by taking you back to the very basics of DISP rules, to building a picture of the consumer and the complaint, right up to being able to write in a persuasive and credible way. By avoiding the common pitfalls, you can regain the trust of your customer and be confident in your ability to get to the heart of the complaint.
PLEASE READ OUR COVID-19 GUIDANCE FOR THIS ACTIVITY
As we adapt to social distancing, this workshop will now be delivered via Skype for Business – further details will be sent to delegates on booking.
If you have any questions, please email the team: training@ukfinance.org.uk
Take this training in-house:
If you have five or more delegates who wish to attend this briefing, it may be more cost effective to run it in-company. To find out more about in-company training, please contact the team on 020 3934 1197 or training@ukfinance.org.uk
Event details
Venue
-
Online
Date and time
-
3 July 2020 09:30 - 17:00
Full and associate member rate
£695 (+VAT)
Non-member rate
£895 (+VAT)
Introduction
- Objective of training
- What you’d like to know by the end of the day
The basics
- A quick refresher on DISP – what DISP does and doesn’t say
- Why the Final Response Letter needs to work for you
Preparing the ground before writing a word
- How to really get to know your consumer
- Understanding the complaint
- How to tie this all together for a cohesive view of the complaint
The big picture – ‘thinking outside the letter’
- Getting the timing right – when is too slow or too fast?
- Writing clearly
- What’s the best letter length and what should be included
- Tone and empathy
- Weighing up evidence
- Logic when there’s a lack of evidence
Getting down to writing
- Does the outcome matter?
- What impact does the outcome have on your letter and your writing?
- What about when you run out of time? Making the best use of the eight-week letter to prevent unnecessary referrals to the FOS
After the letter has gone
- Negotiating with the customer vs a referral to the FOS. Knowing when to let it go
- Top tips for dealing with repeat complainers
Wrap up
- Objectives of training
- Did you find out what you wanted to know?
- Time for questions
Caroline Wells
Caroline Wells is an award-winning Customer Insight professional with over 25 years of transformational leadership in financial services. Caroline has a deep-rooted knowledge of customer experience, consumer vulnerability, diversity legislation, outreach and complaints handling.
Since leaving a senior position at the Financial Ombudsman Service in 2017, Caroline now advises businesses in and outside of financial services. She also works with The Money Advice Trust, is an independent advisor to several organisations, and is a Commissioner on Energy UK’s Commission for Customers in Vulnerable Circumstances. Caroline is also a member of several professional bodies including, ICS and CIPR.
Sarah Lawrence has worked in financial services for nearly 20 years, with over 16 years’ experience gained at the Financial Ombudsman Service. During that time, Sarah worked as an adjudicator - investigating and mediating complaints in various product areas, working closely with ombudsmen on some of the most complex cases.
Sarah’s represented the ombudsman service at many training events for businesses about how the ombudsman service works, and looks at complaints, which has given her a strong understanding of the issues businesses face around complaints. Sarah also worked in and then subsequently led the ombudsman’s Technical Advice Desk – providing over-the-phone guidance to businesses to help them resolve complaints at an earlier stage.
The course will be of value to those handling or overseeing complaints, and frontline and ‘business as usual’ customer queries and journeys, including Complaints, Customer Services, Customer Experience, Operations, Compliance, Legal and Quality Assurance professionals in FCA regulated organisations.
