The Spotlight Report. Q3, 2014 total reportable complaints data with a spotlight on mortgages

Transcription

1 The Spotlight Report Q3, 2014 total reportable complaints data with a spotlight on mortgages

2 Introduction Total complaints to the bank have fallen since this time last year, but I ve watched complaints to the mortgage business grow at an unacceptable pace, and that needs to change. We re working hard to reduce these complaints by finding and fixing their root causes, and this report shines a spotlight on some of the key initiatives we re putting in place to make things work better for each and every mortgage customer. Between rapidly growing demand for housing, and the regulator s tougher new rules to ensure that borrowers can afford their mortgage both now and in the future, the mortgage industry has experienced a huge shake-up this year. These pressures have arrived at a time of change for the bank and the mortgage business in particular. It s clear from complaints figures that some of our long term initiatives to improve the customer experience are leading to short term pain for too many of our customers. To help turn the tide on these complaints, we ve made some significant changes to make securing a mortgage a faster, easier and more transparent process. In the last six months we ve reduced the decision making time on new applications from nine days down to one by giving frontline colleagues the skills and confidence to make more decisions upfront. This has already helped to halve the overall time it takes to offer a final mortgage approval. We re investing in technology, to improve access and keep customers informed in a way that suits them, through initiatives such as Track It and online rate switching. This time next year I d like to be standing here telling our customers they can do almost everything online that they can now do over the phone or in person with a mortgage adviser. We ve also been working to simplify and consolidate fees so they re easier to understand and compare, and we ve reduced early repayment and valuation fees passing on value to our customers. We have not always got things right, so part of our task is correcting past wrongs. The initiatives on the following pages have been chosen because to me, they exemplify great changes we re making to improve things for customers. I know our customers want their bank to be relevant to their changing needs, and we still have some way to go. That s why we re rapidly evolving the bank to make Barclays the go-to mortgage lending business in the UK. Steve Weston CEO, Mortgages at Barclays 2 Spotlight Report

3 Overview of complaints from Q3, 2014 This is a snapshot of the latest complaints data we have received for Q3, 2014, across the Barclays Group. This has been compared with Q3, Full information on all complaints received can be found on pages that s a % complaints to Decumulation, Life and Pensions in Q3, , % that s a complaints to Investments in Q3, 2014 reduction compared with Q3, , % that s a complaints to Home Finance in Q3, , % that s a reduction compared with Q3, 2013 increase compared with Q3, 2013 complaints to Banking in Q3, 2014 increase compared with Q3, , % that s a complaints to General Insurance and Pure Protection in Q3, 2014 reduction compared with Q3, % reduction in the total number of complaints to Barclays Group 150,953 vs 162,360 Q3, 2014 vs Q3, Spotlight Report

4 Improving the mortgage journey We want every customer to have a positive experience of banking with Barclays, especially when making what is often the biggest purchase of their lives. By empowering colleagues to handle customer issues efficiently, investing in technology to make the digital experience as seamless as possible, and simplifying fees, we re taking a number of steps to make home finance work better for all our customers. On the following pages, we highlight some of the key initiatives in this space. Summary of initiatives: 1. Quicker decisions, greater access: The industry is facing a huge shake-up this year, and we re working hard to reduce the negative impact on our customers. To keep things simple for those who don t need to speak to an adviser, we re streamlining and automating rate switching services, taking pressure off our colleagues, and freeing them up to help customers with more complex requirements. 2. Improving transparency: In this digital age, many of our customers would rather not have to call up to find out how their mortgage application is progressing. So we ve developed an online tracking and text alert service, called Track It, to help customers know where they stand in the process, at a time and place that is convenient to them. 3. Reducing and simplifying fees: Confusing fees are a problem for our customers, and when they re hard to explain, they can cause frustration, so we re cutting and consolidating fees to help make mortgage charges clear, fair and easy to understand for everyone that chooses to finance their home with us. 4 Spotlight Report

5 Quicker decisions, better access What our customers have told us When it comes to applying for a mortgage, we know that speed and access are important, and that customers would like to interact with their bank in the way that suits them best. We heard from our customers that we were not meeting their expectations, and our mortgage decisions have been taking too long. New lending rules introduced a greater level of scrutiny to the mortgage application process at a time when the number of mortgage applications was rising quickly. The changes are in the best interest of borrowers, but the detailed questioning has contributed to increased interview length. This extra demand, together with additional training for our colleagues, put further pressure on diaries and meant customers were having to wait up to nine days for an interview. Some customers have also been surprised by the nature of the new affordability questions and checks put in place across the industry, which has contributed to levels of dissatisfaction. What we have done to make things better We ve hired, empowered and freed up more telephony colleagues to handle the greater volumes and lengths of interviews, and extended opening hours to give customers greater access on evenings and weekends. We ve also streamlined the way calls are handled at the first point of contact to bring down waiting times and shorten interviews as much as we can. As recently as last month, every customer would have to wait days for an interview; now half of our customers are able to speak to an adviser immediately, so they can get started with their application straight away. Customers now get a good idea whether their application will be successful in 10 minutes rather than 90, so they know sooner rather than later if they re on the right track. To make it quicker and easier for customers to access a great rate, we created a new online rate switch service to enable people who do not need advice to request a rate switch in less than 10 minutes. In the first six months alone we have seen over 8,000 customers choose to rate switch online showing just how ready our customers are for time saving digital innovations like this. All these changes have improved the average speed to approval dramatically, with an offer letter now given within nine days, a week and a half quicker than before. What we still have to do Current forecasts suggest we will see the base rate rise in the next 18 months, and we expect this will lead even more customers to switch rates. To support this demand, we are working to further automate the online journey, which will take some of the time pressures off our frontline advisers, and free them up to better help customers with more complex requirements. For example, just 12 months ago it was impossible for customers to apply for, pay for and monitor their mortgage online, but within the next 12 months almost everything customers can do over the phone with an adviser will be easy to do online. 5 Spotlight Report

6 Improving transparency What our customers have told us Whether buying a house for themselves or buying to let we know customers are trying to manage day-today life alongside these major events. Being able to know where they stand in the mortgage process is a vital part of making everything run smoothly, and this transparency needs to be delivered consistently, at a time that suits them. Having to call up customer services to find out simple information such as their rate, current balance, or the length left on a loan was not the most flexible or transparent of services. When call volumes were unusually high, this was a frustration for customers, and many rightly felt it was an avoidable one. 3 in 4 customers use Track It to follow their application What we have done to make things better Having listened to customer suggestions, and colleague recommendations, we launched Track It in December 2012 to provide our customers with free digital updates about the progress of their mortgage application or redemption. Customers can choose from either or SMS alerts, and these are sent out promptly at key points throughout their application. Three in four of our customers now choose to use Track It to follow their application, and colleagues have also found it a useful tool for tracking their customers cases. We recognise that every customer is different so we ve been working to provide a full variety of alerts that are tailored to different customers needs. For example, many told us they weren t able to track their application on the move, so this summer we launched mobile and tablet versions. What we still have to do We re constantly listening to feedback about Track It to make sure it works for both customers and colleagues, and we still have some way to go. For example, a number of improvements to the alert messages are arriving soon so customers know as early as possible what their first and subsequent payments will be, to avoid any surprises. Building on the success of Cloud It, there are also plans to introduce further secure communications and document exchange, to make it simple and safe for a wider range of sensitive documents, such as the offer letter, to be sent electronically. 6 Spotlight Report

7 Reducing and simplifying fees What our customers have told us Applying for a mortgage requires comparing a range of fees against a sliding scale of Annual Percentage Return (APR) and a range of other complicated factors. For many, it s a daunting task, and if charges aren t in a format that s easy to compare, it s hard to know which path to take. What we still have to do We know that reducing and simplifying fees is a good thing for our customers. We will continue in our commitment to streamline and demonstrate better value across our product range, delivering both the service and the transparency our customers expect. In the worst cases, confusing fees can lead to unexpected charges, and we know these surprises can be a real headache for our customers. What we have done to make things better Listening to both colleague and customer feedback, we re cutting and consolidating fees across the board, to help make mortgage charges clear, fair and transparent for our customers. Since last year, we have reduced the number of fees and charges on our mortgages from 21 to six to support a better experience for our customers. Most notably the 25 charge for key mortgage services and additional requests for information have been removed, stripping nine fees out of the total. Litigation and withdrawal fees have also been completely abolished. We have reduced the number of fees and charges from 21 to 6 This year, we ve also extended the popular Great Escape mortgage range to include those with smaller loans and buy-to-let borrowers, so more of our customers can benefit from mortgages that aren t confused by legal or valuation fees. We ve reduced the cost of valuing a house by an average of a third, so customers don t have to pay so much upfront to find out what a house is worth. We ve also reduced and simplified charges for early payments, to help those customers looking ahead to interest rate increases. 7 Spotlight Report

8 Barclays Group Summary Period covered in this report: 1 July - 30 September 2014 Brands/trading names covered: Barclays Bank Plc, Barclays Sharedealing, Barclays Stockbrokers Limited, Clydesdale Financial Services Limited, Firstplus Financial Group PLC, Woolwich Plan Managers Limited, Standard Life Cash Savings & Mortgages, Standard Life Cash Savings, Standard Life Mortgages, Barclays Direct (formally ING Direct UK) complaints opened complaints closed Complaints closed within eight weeks (%) Complaints upheld by firm (%) Banking 54,813 48, Home finance 2,721 3, General insurance and pure protection Decumulation, life and pensions 91, , Investments 1,705 1, Total 150, , Barclays Bank Plc Firm name: Barclays Bank Plc Group: Barclays Group Other firms included in this report (if any): Barclays Insurance Services Company Ltd and Solution Personal Finance Ltd Brands/trading names covered: Barclays Bank Plc, Barclays Retail Bank, Barclaycard, Barclays Wealth, Barclays Business Bank, Barclays Corporate Bank, Solution Personal Finance Ltd, Standard Life Cash Savings & Mortgages, Standard Life Cash Savings, Standard Life Mortgages, Barclays Stockbrokers Limited, Barclays Sharedealing, Barclays Direct (formally ING Direct UK) complaints opened complaints closed Complaints closed within eight weeks (%) Complaints upheld by firm (%) Banking 53,532 46, Home finance 2,710 3, General insurance and pure protection Decumulation, life and pensions 90,158 99, Investments 1,251 1, Total 148, , Spotlight Report

9 Firstplus Financial Group Plc Firm name: Firstplus Financial Group Plc Group: Barclays Group Other firms included in this report (if any): Brands/trading names covered: Firstplus Financial Group Plc. complaints opened complaints closed Complaints closed within eight weeks (%) Complaints upheld by firm (%) Banking Home finance General insurance and pure protection Decumulation, life and pensions 1,109 1, Investments Total 1,330 1, Clydesdale Financial Services Limited Firm name: Clydesdale Financial Services Limited Group: Barclays Group Other firms included in this report (if any): Brands/trading names covered: Clydesdale Financial Services Limited, Barclays Partner Finance complaints opened complaints closed Complaints closed within eight weeks (%) Complaints upheld by firm (%) Banking 1,071 1, Home finance General insurance and pure protection Decumulation, life and pensions Investments Total 1,106 1, Spotlight Report

10 Woolwich Plan Managers Limited Firm name: Woolwich Plan Managers Limited Group: Barclays Group Other firms included in this report (if any): Barclays Wealth Funds Limited Brands/trading names covered: Woolwich Plan Managers Limited, Barclays Wealth Funds Limited complaints opened complaints closed Complaints closed within eight weeks (%) Complaints upheld by firm (%) Banking Home finance General insurance and pure protection Decumulation, life and pensions Investments Total Spotlight Report

11 For more information please contact: Simon Hailes Director of Media Relations Ellie Renshaw External Representation Director Spotlight Report

12 Registered office: 1 Churchill Place, London E14 5HP. Registered in England. Registered No: Barclays Bank PLC. is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Barclays Bank PLC 2014.