What does Treating Customers Fairly mean to Select Finance Ltd
Select Finance Limited regards the remit of Treating Customers Fairly (TCF) with the utmost priority. It is our belief that by TCF, we are offering the best possible service in a manner which is clear, fair and not misleading for our clients. By doing so, not only is this beneficial to our current business, but also serves as a sound way forward through recommendations and future growth of the company.
TCF is the responsibility of each and every staff member at Select Finance Limited. Through continuous training and awareness of applicable developments within this field, we believe that we are able to implement and regularly review our TCF plan. This is done on a yearly basis as well as an ongoing basis as developments demand, and forms a major part of Select Finances business strategy.
Select Finances’ TCF goals are to continue to develop and tailor-make our services to meet our client’s needs in a clear, fair and not misleading manner, taking into account our client’s feedback at every step.
Select Finance Ltd’s approach to TCF
At Select Finance, we have determined what TCF means to our business which is reflected in our aims to:
- recommend mortgages and associated insurance that are suitable to the needs, wishes and understanding of our clients;
- ensure our clients receive all necessary information about the services we offer and any mortgage and insurance contracts that we may recommend, and that this is explained in a way that is understandable to our clients; and
- handle complaints fairly.
For our part we work on the basis of treating our clients as we would expect to be treated and will not recommend contracts that we ourselves would not be satisfied with. In translating the above into our day to day dealings with our clients we have identified the following key areas as being relevant to our business:
- Culture
- Client Service
- Quality of Advice
- Financial promotions
- Complaint handling
- Management information
Culture
We have built our business and reputation by providing a quality service and a duty of care to our clients over a number of years. Testimony to this is the fact that we still retain many of those clients who we first dealt with when we established our firm.
Our culture is built on the foundation that we will always deal with our clients in the same manner that we would expect to be dealt with. This is reflected in the very low volume of any complaints received by our firm.
We believe that as a business we already reflect the culture that FSA envisage under TCF but recognise that there needs to be a tangible assessment of this which is the reason for this paper which as a company we will periodically review.
At Select Finance we ensure that the culture we engage as a business is translated directly into our dealings with our clients and we liaise with our clients after we have completed their transaction to ensure that every aspect has been to their satisfaction.
Client Service
We recognise the importance of ensuring that we follow good TCF practices when dealing with our clients’.
To this end we constantly monitor the progress of all applications and provide an after sales service by way of speaking to our clients on a regular basis.
We review our panel of lenders on a regular basis to ensure that the products being offered are competitive.
Quality of Advice
Select Finance’s aim is to ensure that the advice provided to clients is if of the highest level.
We are committed to ensuring our advisers demonstrate their continued competence in the recommendations that are made to clients.
Through regular file checks and knowledge testing, we are able to identify the appropriateness of the products offered to our clients, as well as each adviser’s methodology during the sales process, to ensure that their behaviour takes account of the client’s needs, attitude to risk, level of understanding and rights. This is monitored for clients’ that have been provided with quotations as will as those clients who have proceeded with an application.
Financial/Qualifying Credit Promotions
Our aim at Select Finance is to ensure the advertising that we undertake, which includes the website and newspaper advertising are clear, fair and not misleading.
The firm has in place a formal procedure for the approval of financial/qualifying credit promotions to ensure that no unauthorised advertising is undertaken.
Complaint Handling
Our complaints handling procedure is designed to ensure that we treat any complainant with sympathy and understanding.
All complaints are reviewed positively as a means of identifying areas for improving our service.
We ensure complaints received are reviewed by an independent person of sufficient competence who is not directly involved in the matter, usually the Compliance Officer.
Management Information
We recognise the importance of good and accurate management information to ensure TCF is being applied.
Management information is produced at Select Finance on a regular basis to ensure the TCF objectives are being met by the firm and advisers. The following provides examples of the information that is produced:
- File Checks
- Product knowledge testing in both mortgage and PPI areas
- Key Performance Indicators;
- Customer Satisfaction surveys
- Mortgage Observations
File checks are carried out when an application is received, offered and completed by senior management.
Product knowledge testing is carried out by way of written questions and on line testing for mortgage processes and Payment Protection processes.
Key Performance Indicators continue to demonstrate the range of products sold, and regular reviews with the advisers endure justification in any areas where benchmarks are exceeded. Select Finance regularly reviews all aspects of its business and organisational structures to identify risks that might have an impact on our ability to treat customers fairly. Any area where a risk is identified will be immediately explored by management, to ensure that Select Finance puts processes in place to counteract this risk