Complaint Handling
- Description
- Tasks
- Skills
- Useful Knowledge
- Entry Qualifications
- Professional Qualifications
- Trends
- Resources
While it is the aim for all financial companies to deliver a consistent and superior service, the volume of customers means that inevitably complaints will arise. How firms respond to and handle customer complaints is, in most instances, a make or break factor. Complaint handling is regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA), who through their Treating Customers Fairly (TCF) principle, take a keen interest in the way customers’ dissatisfaction is put right. Under FSA rules, companies must have an internal complaints procedure in writing and all staff need to be aware of this. Consequently, most financial companies today have dedicated teams assigned to try and resolve issues.
Salary
Entry level positions, such as a trainee complaints officer, start at approximately £16,000 per annum. With the right experience, qualifications and skills you could progress to management roles and earn in excess of £50,000 per annum. Salaries will vary considerably based on location and employer.
- Improving the overall customer relationship, making customers aware of your organisation’s complaints procedures
- Acknowledging complaints promptly and responding to them within set time limits, systematically and fairly
- Resolving customers’ queries within agreed authority, investigating the cause of any complaints, gathering information from relevant sales and service teams and reviewing sales documentation
- Making fair, impartial decisions on whether to uphold a complaint in line with company / regulatory frameworks
- Summarising any additional actions required, advising customers when they can expect a final response, drafting and sending out correspondence
- Maintaining customer related information systems for accurate record keeping
- Using complaint information to improve service and sales standards where appropriate
- Ensuring compliance with legal requirements, industry regulations, organisational policies and professional codes
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills
- Able to prioritise workloads and meet deadlines
- First class interpersonal skills, able to communicate with a wide range of people
- Ethical, focused on treating customers fairly
- Courteous yet assertive
- Trustworthy and reliable
- Organised and methodical
- High attention to detail
- Computer literate
- Respect for customer and business confidentiality
A new entrant will not always be required to have this knowledge. Employers usually provide training to acquire skills for:
- Company and regulatory frameworks for handling customer complaints
- Ethical standards, including the Banking Code and Treating Customers Fairly
- The sale and servicing of regulated financial products
In most instances, people working in complaints have prior experience in financial services, usually in customer facing service or sales roles. However, it’s possible to enter via an administrative position within a compliance team. Employers look for people who are committed to providing excellent customer service, understand the impact that poor customer service can have on their business and are good clear communicators, verbally and especially in writing. Any qualifications with a communication element, including English or business marketing are useful.
In order to gain an entry level position, employers will look for people who have:
- GCSEs, Scottish Standard Grades or equivalent qualifications such as Business, Administration and Finance (BAF) Diploma, Welsh Baccalaureate (BAC) Foundation and Intermediate Diploma, and Scottish National Qualifications at Intermediate 2 (SCQF Level 5)
Apprenticeships can be a useful way to gain entry and to progress on in the profession:
- Level 2 Apprenticeship in Providing Financial Services (England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland)
- Level 3 Apprenticeship in Providing Financial Services (England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland)
Studying for professional qualifications is encouraged, including sector specific qualifications offered by the Institute of Financial Services, the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) and the Chartered Institute of Securities & Investment (CISI). To show your awareness of the general financial services and customer care environment in the UK, you may be expected to undertake:
- Institute of Financial Services Level 3 Certificate in Regulated Complaints Handling (CeRCH)
- Institute of Financial Services Level 3 Certificate in Regulated Customer Care (CeRCC)
- CII Level 3 Certificate in Financial Administration
- CISI Level 3 Award in Risk in Financial Services
- CISI Level 3 Introduction to Investment Award (for investment sector staff)
Those branching more into compliance work may choose to do a professional qualification in this field to aid progression. See the compliance profile for details.
Virtually every financial company, especially retail banks and financial advice firms, employ dedicated complaint handling teams, usually within their compliance setting. These might be based at operational centres nationwide or within central head offices. Jobs are UK based only, as teams are responding to complaints raised by UK customers and complying with a UK regulatory agenda set by the FSA. In light of the current financial climate, the career landscape for people in this field should continue expanding at a rapid pace. With the right experience and qualifications, people working in customer care and complaint handling will hold many of the skills required to work switch into compliance or corporate governance.
