Bank of Scotland wins complaints approval

Bank of Scotland has recieved a powerful endorsement of its complaints handling procedures after registering seven customer care centres to BSI's complaints management specification.

"We wanted to formulate a recipe for best practice in the customer care units under our control," said Bank of Scotland customer care manager David Miller. "This gives customers a degree of assurance that what we're doing is done to the highest standards. It acts as a stamp of approval for our customer care excellence.

David Miller said registering had the additional benefit of ensuring Bank of Scotland would be compliant with demands currently being mooted by the new financial services ombudsman.

The BSI scheme, CMSAS 86:2000, underlines that customers need an open, effective and easy complaints system, while staff need adequate resources and training to enable the system to work effectively.

The scheme also emphasises senior management involvement in complaint procedures and recognises the value of monitoring complaints to help organisations improve their performance.

But most importantly, it certifies that an organisation has controls in place to ensure it keeps its complaints procedure up to standard. David Miller said achieving certification was tough, but added: "It's like most things in business - if they have value, then they're worth working towards. This will keep us at the forefront of customer care."

CMSAS 86:2000 is based on the British Standard BS 8600:1999, titled "Complaints management systems, guide to design and implementation."

Nick Moy, BSI director of Management Systems said: "Our complaints management system assessment scheme means that organisations can get a third party endorsement of the excellence of their procedures. The Bank of Scotland must be congratulated for its excellent policies and procedures that put the customer at the centre of its work."

The BSI Scheme underlines that customers need an open, effective and easy complaints system, while staff need adequate resources and training to enable the system to work effectively. The Scheme also emphasises senior management involvement in complaint procedures and recognises the value of monitoring complaints to help organizations improve their performance.

BSI helps organisations get the most value from their management systems through registration to international standards by a process-driven auditing approach. In addition to registering firms to the complaints management standard, BSI registers organisations to standards covering the management of quality, information security, environmental best practice, and occupational health and safety.

CONTACT BSI PRESS OFFICE:
Wilma Tulloch on +44 (0)20 8996 6330 OR
Marc Edney on +44 (0)20 8996 6330