Recent headlines surrounding the record £117m fine levied on Lloyds Banking Group for its failings and ‘unacceptable’ conduct in handling claims over payment protection insurance (PPI) is a warning to any company.
Complaint handling, and in particular PPI complaint handling, is a high priority issue that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) continues to address. The importance of treating customers fairly is now, and will always be, fundamental to the FCA under its consumer protection objective. The issue is complicated by the fact that many customers making complaints may have already been mis-sold PPI, resulting in a situation where, having have already been treated unfairly once, they could be treated unfairly for a second time.
When PPI insurance providers or claims management companies (CMCs) are dealing with customers direct, it is often the case that the customer is confused as to whether they purchased such insurance or not. In such circumstances it is even more important that advisors and sales personnel are well trained and fully aware of the complexities surrounding PPI claims, including the identification of potential vulnerable customers.
It is clear that the PPI mis-selling issue is not going away any time soon. Failing to follow correct procedures and processes will lead to customer dissatisfaction and ultimately could result in regulatory action. The need to have an effective internal audit system coupled with a reliable external audit oversight therefore becomes of paramount importance.
Rockstead specialises in providing a truly objective audit, including the confirmation of robust compliance processes, giving re-assurance that practises and procedures are in line with the regulator’s expectations.