The FCA has published a ‘Dear CEO’ letter on its website for the attention of firms that hold a consumer credit authorisation. It follows a review of how firms deal with complaints, which highlighted a number of deficiencies, including:
- Failure of firms to provide adequate information about their internal complaints handling procedures
- The poor quality of final responses from firms about complaints
- Failure of firms to undertake root cause analysis to identify and remedy any recurring or systemic problems
- Firms failing to resend and report accurate complaints data
The FCA has stated that it expects consumer credit firms to review their complaints handling arrangements in light of the letter. In future, the FCA may ask for evidence of a firm’s compliance with the dispute resolution (DISP) rules.
You can find a copy of the letter on the FCA’s website: https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/correspondence/dear-ceo-letter-consumer-credit-firms-handling-complaints.pdf