Early resolution initiatives

Opportunities for early resolution of complaints

Many service providers will be aware that there is currently a significant wait at the beginning of our complaints process which means both yourselves and consumers are waiting too long for an investigation to begin.  

Much of our work this year has been identifying ways we can resolve this, which has led to a focus on ways in which we can support early resolution of complaints. This has had positive results so far with over 400 cases closed in the first six months of the year.  

Amongst others, we have introduced three new ways of working which we want to highlight to you: 

Sharing our remedy guidance once a case has been accepted. Once a case has been accepted you will receive a letter which includes links to guidance. This guidance can help you to reassess whether you have come to the right decision in your own complaints process.  

When you receive the guidance it's worth checking and seeing if the guidance suggests you should have come to a different decision or remedy which may allow you to resolve the complaint yourself.  

Checking if a reasonable offer has been made. At an early point case files will be checked to see has an offer been made and was it reasonable and unlikely to be bettered as a result of an investigation. If so this is a case that we can dismiss.  

This means it is important that you respond to complaints and give the proper consideration to what is a reasonable remedy. If no offer has been made at first-tier we can’t use our powers to dismiss it.  

Early engagement to encourage resolution. Through experience we can identify those cases where minimal engagement with both parties can resolve the complaint, perhaps to assure the consumer that an offer is reasonable or to highlight to a service provider where their initial analysis of a complaint might not have been quite right.  

Case Study

Case Study

Ms D raised a complaint regarding the firm’s handling of her personal injury claim. She complained that the firm had delayed matters, passed her between numerous call handlers, failed to update her or respond to her requests for information, and lost information and documents that she then had to provide again.

The firm had accepted that their service had fallen below a reasonable level and offered Ms D £100 in compensation that they then increased to £200. When we received the complaint, we undertook an assessment and then contacted the parties to advise them that, although we had not undertaken a full investigation, it was likely that if we upheld the complaints we would be directing a remedy in the significant category range of £250 - £750 given the circumstances of the case.

The firm took this on board and increased their offer of compensation to £450. This was agreed by Ms D so we were able to advise both parties that the complaint had been resolved and no further action was required in relation to it by this office.

Case Study

Case Study

Ms P complained that the firm had failed to progress the two matters that she had instructed them to assist her with – a lease extension and the sale of her property. Ms P said that the firm’s delays had caused her purchaser to withdraw from the transaction. The matter had caused Ms P considerable frustration and inconvenience.

When they investigated the complaint, they decided that they had delayed matters and therefore provided poor service to Ms P. Consequently, they offered to reimburse her the fees she had paid to them in full - £1,620 including VAT, and pay her an additional £380 in compensation to reflect the distress caused to her in the delays that they had incurred. The firm therefore offered a total remedy of £2,000 to resolve the complaint.

When we assessed the complaint, we determined that the firm’s offer was reasonable in the circumstances, remained open for acceptance and if we investigated the complaint, we would not direct a remedy greater than that which the firm had already offered. We therefore advised the parties of our findings and explained that Ms P should accept the firm’s offer and we were unable to assist her further with her complaint. Ms P contacted our office to advise us that she had accepted the firm’s offer and they had paid her £2,000, so she was happy to accept our findings.

If you are contacted by us at an early stage of the process it is worth engaging with us to see if between us we can find a way to resolve the situation quickly.  

Some of the key guidance that we will always refer service providers to can be found on the Learning Resource page. This includes: 

Our approach to determining complaints. Understand the key questions we ask throughout an investigation.  

Our approach to putting things right. The remedies we have the power to award including the financial bands we use. 

Scheme Rules FAQ. An overview of some of the rules including providing clarity on when a case fee can be waived.