In reading the March/April 2003 ABA Bank Compliance, there is an article by Jeffrey R. Torp/Andy Zavoina on "In Person, By Phone, By Mail, or Online: Managing Customer Complaints" - GOOD ARTICLE. I'm always amazed how Andy finds time to do everything he does, and maintain his composure .

This does raise a question: Are Banks required to have a Policy for customer complaints?

Required, no. But call it dual control, quality control or damage control it is an excellent way to keep your fingers on the pulse of your customers. What they don't like, what they have real issues with and assurance that when there is a real problem, it isn't ignored.

These have CRA implications as well as others and can be VERY important. I recommend a good policy/procedure be in place.

And my contribution to that article was minor.

As to my composure, I think they may be coming to take me away, ho ho, he he, ha ha... Things are nuts until next week, or June, possibly October. I'm working on it though.

I don't believe there is anything requiring you to have a policy, but there should certainly be procedures. If you respond to complaints by, say, waiving fees, under what circumstances should you do it? Would you di it for one cutomer and not another. Based on what? Could that be interpreted as bias

Andy,

I do not have access to the ABA journal, but would very much like to read your article on customer complaints. WOuld you mind emailing it to me at dchandrasekhar@rakbank.ae?

Thanks

The copyright police would come after me, and as I noted, I wasn't the primary author. You can sign up for a free subscription of the magazine though.

The fact that I can't send you the article doesn't mean you wouldn't find the sample policy helpful though. Many points are contained in this document that were in the article.

I am editing this because I was working on an ABA Banking Journal issue (Compliance section) when I saw this post and my multi-tasking brain chip began to fizz. I referenced the Banking Journal as a freebie. The Compliance Magazine, where the article mentioned above is, is not a freebie. I still don't have the ability to mail that article to anyone but here in a short time it should be on your CCH CDs if you subscribe to that.