DISP 1.5 Record keeping and reporting

The records required by DISP 1.5.1 R are for the purposes of monitoring by the FSA and also to ensure that the firm is able to cooperate, as necessary, with the Financial Ombudsman Service. They should include:

1. (1)

   the name of the complainant;

2. (2)

   the substance of the complaint;

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3. (3)

   any correspondence between the firm and the complainant, including details of any redress offered by the firm; and4

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4. (4)

   documentation relating to the referral of a complaint under DISP 1.4.18 R.4

DISP 4.2.3 R covers record keeping by VJ participants.

For the purpose of DISP 1.5.4 R, upon completing the return, the firm should note that:3

1. (1)

   Where a complaint could fall into more than one category, the complaint should be recorded in the category which the firm considers to form the main part of the complaint.

2. (2)

   Where a complaint has been upheld under DISP 1.5.4 R (3)(a), a firm should report any complaints to which it has given a final response which accepts the complaint, and, where appropriate, offers redress, even if the redress offered is disputed by the complainant. Where a complaint is upheld in part, a firm should treat the whole complaint as upheld for reporting purposes. Where a firm rejects a complaint, yet chooses to make an ex-gratia payment to the complainant, the complaint should be recorded as 'rejected'.3

3. (3)

   Where a firm reports on the amount of redress paid under DISP 1.5.4 R (4), redress should be interpreted to include an amount paid, or cost borne, by the firm, where a cash value can be readily identified, and should include:3

   1. (a)

      amounts paid for distress and inconvenience;3

   2. (b)

      a free transfer out to another provider which transfer would normally be paid for;3

   3. (c)

      ex-gratia payments and goodwill gestures;3

   4. (d)

      interest on delayed settlements;3

   5. (e)

      waiver of an excess on an insurance policy; and3

   6. (f)

      payments to put the consumer back into the position the consumer should have been in had the act or omission not occurred.3

4. (4)

   Where a firm reports on the amount of redress paid under DISP 1.5.4 R (4), such redress should not, however, include repayments or refunds of premiums which had been taken in error (for example where a firm had been taking, by direct debit, twice the actual premium amount due under a policy). The refund of the overcharge would not count as redress.3

Where a complaint is reported as closed under DISP 1.5.7 R (3) because the complainant has not replied to the firm within eight weeks of a written response which meets the requirements in DISP 1.4.9 R, the firm may treat the date of that response as the date when the complaint was closed for the purposes of the reporting requirements in DISP 1.5.4 R (2).

Where a complaint is subject to the FSAVC review, the record keeping and reporting requirements in DISP 1.5.1 R and DISP 1.5.4 R apply only where the complainant is dissatisfied with the outcome of that review (under DISP 1.4.15 R and DISP 1.4.16 R).

The contact point can be by name, job title or department and may include, for example, a helpline telephone number.

SUP 15.6 refers to and contains requirements regarding the steps that firms must take to ensure that information provided to the FSA is accurate and complete. Those requirements apply to reports required to be submitted under this chapter. 5