Barclays sees complaints edge down
BARCLAYS saw the number of retail customer complaints it receives edge down by six per cent last year in a development that it expects to deliver millions of pounds in cost-savings.
The drop in complaints came despite a 12 per cent rise in the second half of the year entirely due to the payment protection insurance mis-selling scandal, which has cost the bank £1bn.
Complaints relating to PPI soared by 102 per cent to 196,684 at Barclays, accelerating after banks dropped an appeal and agreed to pay out compensation to those who were mis-sold the insurance. Lenders have received a blitz of unwelcome publicity related to PPI, with lawyers chasing consumers and encouraging them to file for compensation.
But overall, complaints dropped significantly in Barclays’ other non-PPI related businesses, which the bank thinks will deliver millions in savings.
Excluding PPI, complaints dropped by 29 per cent last year to 336,363. The biggest improvement was in the retail bank, where they fell by 31 per cent. The bank said that some of its most effective changes included processing replacement debit cards within two days rather than a week and releasing funds of the deceased to bereaved kin far more quickly.
The bank’s head of retail Antony Jenkins said: “Tackling complaints is our top priority… We are aiming for further significant reductions in underlying complaints in the first half of 2012.”