Customer Service Review Committee (CSRC)
A message from Chris Ewbank, Chair of the CSRC
I hope you find the following information useful. It gives details about the CSRC, what it is and how it works. The Committee looks at individual complaints from different points of view - from the member's view; on behalf of all the membership; as well as how the Society has dealt with the complaint. Each person's experience is different and therefore, each complaint is different - we take every complaint seriously and consider each of them individually.
Our aim is to ensure that you are treated fairly and to improve the relationship members have with the Society. After all, we are all members too! Complaining can produce results, it can also be frustrating and time-consuming. There will always be complaints, some of which will be justified and some not. The knowledge that your complaint will be considered objectively by other members will, I hope, give you confidence in bringing your complaint to the CSRC. The Committee values its independence from the Society, it holds its discussions about individual complaints in private without Society management present and we hope that, by learning from members' experiences, we can make recommendations to the Society to improve relationships in the future.
Overview
We set up the Customer Service Review Committee (CSRC) in 2003. This was a new initiative, unique in the financial services industry. It was prompted by our belief that the Society's members should be able to influence the way the Society deals with complaints and should have a means of commenting on the way it handled them. We also foresaw the CSRC acting as an independent 'judge' on occasions when the Society and any of its members failed to resolve a complaint.
So what is the CSRC's role, who are its members and what might it do for you?
The CSRC’s role
The Committee, which meets quarterly, has two principal purposes. First, it reviews cases where a Society member is dissatisfied with the outcome of a complaint. Typically the Committee will review four cases during each of its meetings. In several instances it has invited the Society to reconsider its response to a complaint – and that has happened. Second, the CSRC continuously reviews the way the Society handles complaints and the associated procedures. It has made several decisions where it has seen a need for change in this area.
The CSRC’s membership
The CSRC is chaired by one of the Society’s non-Executive Directors and has four ‘lay’ members – people who either save with the Society or borrow from it. Members serve for a maximum of four years, with two retiring by rotation every two years when new appointments are made. We advertise vacancies in our 'Society' magazine. Candidates must have been members of the Society for at least two years. They are selected following interview by the Chair of the CSRC and the Society’s Chief Executive, who look for people of broad experience and an ability to see both sides of an argument. Candidates must also show that they can consider complaints objectively and suggest solutions that are practicable, fair and reasonable.
What could the CSRC do for you?
If you have a complaint that is not settled to your satisfaction and which reaches the end of the Society’s internal complaints procedure, you will receive the Society’s final response - a letter from the Chief Executive called a 'deadlock' letter. In this letter, he will offer you the opportunity to have your case referred to the CSRC. If you decide to do this, the Committee will review your complaint at its next meeting. Afterwards, the Chair will write to you to tell you the outcome. None of this in any way affects your right to subsequently put your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service. You can, if you choose, decide to go straight to the Financial Ombudsman Service without asking the Committee for its views.
In summary, the CSRC has already proved its worth and it is recognised throughout the industry as an example of good practice. If you are unhappy with the Society's response to your complaint, you may see merit in an independent review by people who, like you, are members of the Society.