Client Success Story

Mortgage Endowment Complaint Handling

Background:

Our client, a FTSE 100 retail bank, suffered a significant increase in mortgage endowment (ME) complaints following publication of template complaint letters on the Consumers' Association website and negative press attention.

The Challenge:

Our client needed to clear the substantial ME complaints backlog within the FSA’s 8-week regulatory guideline to avoid enforcement.

The Solution:

Initially, Huntswood worked alongside the client's own staff to clear the complaints backlog.

This work stream entailed:

Within three weeks of being awarded the project, Huntswood had engaged 50 consultants, including complaint handlers and support staff such as data gatherers and managers. All were trained in the client's ME complaint handling processes and procedures. For the first two weeks of the project, our consultants were supported by an experienced client employee, responsible for answering questions and clarifying the client's complaint handling policies.

Huntswood allowed the client flexibility to expand or contract the size of our team. Following a peak in complaint volumes, our team expanded for three months to 94. The new consultants were trained by consultants already working on the project. Once volumes subsided, we reduced the size of the team to 58 consultants, providing a cost-effective solution to a short-term ‘pocket of pressure’.

The Result:

Since the inception of this contract the client’s backlog has been cleared and Huntswood is now processing all ‘new’ ME complaints received into the organisation. The processing of these complaints has now returned to within the 8-week regulatory guideline and Huntswood has used its spare capacity to assist the client with other complaints concerning Investment business.

Huntswood has processed in excess of 150,000 ME complaints to date on behalf of the client, and during the last 18 months has successfully implemented process improvement initiatives resulting in productivity increasing by 34%.

Furthermore, through promoting and facilitating the introduction of risk based quality assurance (QA) Huntswood helped the client realise savings in excess of £100K per month. This was aided by Huntswood’s demonstrable track record of delivering ‘right first time’ complaint resolution. The results of Huntswood’s internal QA provisions and the client’s own independent audit process identified that less than 0.03% of decisions made by Huntswood’s complaint handlers were subsequently overturned.

At Huntswood we have developed our own complaints system which includes data-capture, work-flow and management information reporting. Our client has specifically fed back to us that the volume and quality of information we report to them far exceeds their own capability and has assisted them with their strategic planning and other issues such as EB20 reviews. This system fully satisfies the client’s requirements, including FSA reporting.

Since the start of the contract Huntswood has been responsible for the day-to-day management of the project, including production, management information, issues and risk resolution. Our client's senior management team has overseen the project through regular project board meetings, where progress is reviewed and discussed. The relationship between our two companies has developed to the extent that Huntswood is now consulted on strategic issues, such as the development of new processes, communication with customers and resourcing techniques.

Huntswood View:

Complaint volumes are still likely to rise over time, although change in their nature - fuelled by politicisation of the regulatory regime, media focus on the financial service industry, a likely tightening of consumer free cash-flow and a movement to what many commentators term a ‘victim culture’.

Successful complaint handling can give firms the opportunity to change a customer’s perception of the firm, retain business and protect their brand reputation.

Huntswood has been operating complaint management programmes within the highly complex regulated arena for many years. We have extensive experience of developing, implementing and delivering complaint management solutions and have gained a reputation across many sectors for not only being fair and efficient in our decision making processes, but also as a market leader in the highly specialised and sensitive customer management arena.