It is also worth noting that in most cases PI policies require firms to make them aware of a potential or actual complaint at the earliest opportunity.
How should a complaint be investigated?
Your principal contact for complaints will be responsible for investigating the matter (usually a senior manager). They may delegate some of the work, but retain overall responsibility and will have the final say on whether to uphold or reject the complaint and on any redress to be offered.
If the complaint concerns the principal contact directly, where possible, it should be passed to another senior manager to maintain impartiality.
The investigation process should be handled as follows:
- Send a letter of acknowledgement to the client within five business days of receiving the complaint, summarising the main points and explaining the investigation process.
- Investigate the complaint, considering all available evidence, such as your records of dealings with the client. If necessary, contact the complainant with any queries and interview staff members involved with the customer. Based on your findings, the principal contact will then decide if the compliant is justified and if it should be upheld, partially upheld or rejected.
- If it is deemed the client has been disadvantaged as a result of the firm’s actions, a decision must be made about what redress, financial or otherwise, is appropriate.
Remember, the burden of proof used when investigating complaints is not the same as the ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ principle applied in criminal courts. Neither side has to prove whether a particular event occurred.
If there is conflicting evidence, a decision must be made on a ‘balance of probabilities’, ie what you believe is most likely to have happened.
Notifying the complainant
Once you have reached a decision, a final response letter needs be sent to the client within eight weeks of receiving their complaint.
The letter must explain if the complaint is being upheld, partially upheld or rejected and explain how and why the decision was reached. It should also give details of any redress being offered, financial or otherwise.
If you decide a financial loss has occurred, the redress paid should be sufficient to revert the customer back to the position they would have been in before being disadvantaged by the firm’s actions.
It may also be appropriate to offer additional payment to cover material distress or inconvenience.
This final response letter needs to inform the client they have six months from its date to refer the complaint to the Fos. A copy of the Fos leaflet "Your complaint and the ombudsman" also needs to be enclosed.
Offering compensation
If you uphold the client’s complaint and find they have been disadvantaged or suffered distress/inconvenience, you need to offer some form of compensation.
A bunch of flowers and an apology may suffice if there has been no financial loss, but a monetary award will be necessary if compensation is required or there has been significant distress or inconvenience.
It is up to you to decide what compensation is fair and reasonable, however take into account how this offer would be viewed by the Fos, should the client refer their complaint.
Once a complaint has been closed
You need to record which products, services or business areas attract complaints to allow any trends to be identified and addressed. Even a single complaint could necessitate action.
