The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has fined RBS and NatWest – both part of the RBS Group –
£2.8million for “multiple failings” in their handling of customer complaints.
The FSA said RBS had failed to respond adequately to more than half of the complaints that they
had reviewed, and commented that there was “an unacceptably high risk that customers may not
have been treated fairly due to a number of failings within the banks’ approach to routine complaint
handling”.
The way banks deal with complaints from customers is set down by financial regulation, and includes
rules about the length of time it should take to deal with a complaint, and advising complainants
of their options if they remain dissatisfied – for example the right to refer their complaint on to the
independent Financial Ombudsman Service.
According to the FSA, their review of complaints handled by the firms revealed:
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unacceptable delays in replying to customers;
complaints were poorly investigated, with staff failing to examine and consider all appropriate
information before making their decision;
complaint responses failed to fully address the concerns raised, and failed to explain why
complaints had been upheld or rejected;
complainants had not been notified of their rights to refer to the Financial Ombudsman Service
within the appropriate time period.
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FSA managing director of enforcement and financial crime Margaret Cole said:
“We expect firms to treat customers fairly and that consumers can be confident that their
complaints will be dealt with properly. The failure of these two high street banks to deal adequately
with complaints put consumers at unacceptable risk and the fine of £2.8m reflects this.
“The poor complaints procedure of RBS and NatWest came to light during our review of complaint
handling in major banks. The review showed that banks need to make major changes to handle
consumer complaints fairly and the FSA will continue to take appropriate action to ensure these
changes are put in place.”
