1. Introduction
1.1
It is important that complaints made against the Corporation of Lloyd's by members and former members of the Society ("Members") are handled quickly, fairly and in accordance with requirements that the FSA has imposed on Lloyd's.
1.2
If you receive a complaint from a Member you should follow the guidance set out below.
2. Initial steps
Complaints made orally
2.1
If you receive a complaint whilst speaking to a Member which you cannot resolve immediately within the scope of your authority you should ask the Member to put his or her complaint in writing and send it to:
(a) the manager of your department if the Member's complaint concerns the activities of your department; or
(b) the Manager of Market Services, if the Member's complaint concerns the activities of any other department of the Corporation.
Encourage the Member to include all details of their complaint and copies of all relevant correspondence and other supporting information. The Member may wish to communicate by post, fax or e-mail. Provide him or her with the relevant contact details. The contact details for the Manager of Market Services, are as follows:
Lloyd's
Fidentia House
Walter Burke Way
Chatham Maritime
Chatham
Kent
ME4 4RN
UK
Tel: +44 (0)1634 392909
Email: member-complaints@lloyds.com
Fax: +44 (0)1634 392947
2.2
Where you are unable to resolve a Member's complaint immediately, you must inform your team leader or manager of this fact.You should also inform the Manager of Market Services if the Member is expected to submit a written complaint.
Complaints made in writing
2.3
If you receive a written complaint from a Member, date stamp it and inform your manager. He or she will then decide who is best placed to deal with the complaint.
2.4
A person who is the subject of a complaint should give careful consideration as to whether he or she is an appropriate person to deal with the complaint. Legal advice should be sought if necessary.
2.5
The FSA requires complaints to be resolved speedily at the earliest stage possible. Managers must decide and, if necessary, agree with other interested managers who will deal with a member's complaint as soon as possible.
3. Investigating the complaint
3.1
If you have agreed or been asked to deal with a complaint, you should promptly send a letter to the Member acknowledging his or her complaint and indicating when a substantive response will be sent. You should enclose a copy of these guidelines with your letter.
3.2
You should investigate the complaint thoroughly and fairly and you should speak to any of your colleagues referred to in the complaint.
3.3
If you were involved in the matter about which complaint is made you should make arrangements to have your investigation reviewed by someone who was not.
3.4
You should aim to respond to the Member's complaint within four weeks from its receipt. If you cannot do so, you should send a letter to the Member within this period explaining why and indicating when a substantive response will be sent.
3.5
If it becomes apparent that you will not be able to respond substantively to the Member's complaint within eight weeks from its receipt, you should send a letter to the Member within this period explaining why and indicating when a substantive response will be sent. In your letter you should inform the Member that he or she may have the right to refer their complaint to Lloyd's Members' Ombudsman and you should state where the Member may find details of the Lloyd's Members' Ombudsman Scheme (see paragraph 4.2 below).
4. Written responses
4.1
You should prepare a written response to the Member's complaint setting out the findings of your investigation and whether you accept the Member's complaint or whether you reject it. If you reject the Member's complaint you should give reasons for your decision.
4.2
Your response must include the following paragraph: "If you are dissatisfied with this response you may be able to refer your complaint to Lloyd's Members' Ombudsman at the following address: Lloyd's, One Lime Street, London EC3M 7HA, UK. Please refer to Annex 1 of the enclosure to my letter of [enter date of your original letter referred to in paragraph 3.1 above] for details of the Lloyd's Members' Ombudsman Scheme".
4.3
You should discuss your response with your manager. In particular, you must discuss any proposed offer of financial or other redress with your manager. Depending on the size and reason for the proposed payment, he or she should then consider discussing the implications of that offer with Legal & Compliance.
4.4
Where financial redress is considered appropriate, the aim should be to restore the Member to the position he or she would have been in if the acts or omissions giving rise to the complaint had not occurred. The redress should therefore include an appropriate amount of interest in addition to the principal sum.
4.5
Any redress accepted by the Member should be provided promptly.
5. Record keeping
5.1
You should create a file on the Member's complaint which should contain copies of all correspondence and relevant notes of discussions relating to your investigation of the complaint. Arrangements should be made for this file to be retained for a period of three years from the date of the last item of correspondence on it. So far as possible complaints files should be stored in digital form to save storage costs and for ease of retrieval.
Annex 1: Summary of the Lloyd's Members' Ombudsman Scheme
Lloyd's Members' Ombudsman ("the Ombudsman") considers and, where appropriate, investigates certain types of complaint made against the Society of Lloyd's ("the Society") by members of the Society.
Unless he considers it inappropriate to do so, the Ombudsman will look into any complaint made by a current member or any person who ceased to be an individual member or a "quasi-individual member" after 30 November 2001 which contains an allegation that the member has suffered injustice in consequence of maladministration in connection with any action taken by or on behalf of the Society.
Generally speaking, the Ombudsman will not investigate a complaint-
(a) which has been previously referred to the Ombudsman, unless the Ombudsman is satisfied that new evidence is now available which was not previously available to him or her;
(b) where the action complained of occurred more than two years before the member made his or her complaint, unless the Ombudsman thinks there is good reason to do so;
(c) where any party to the complaint has instituted proceedings in any court of competent jurisdiction or has made a reference to arbitration in relation to the complaint unless the proceedings have been discontinued or the reference to arbitration was withdrawn prior to the final judgment award;
(d) where the member has a right of appeal to Lloyd's Appeal Tribunal or in respect of a matter that has been the subject of a decision of Lloyd's Appeal Tribunal;
(e) which relates to the institution or conduct of Lloyd's disciplinary proceedings;
(f) which relates to any action taken by or behalf of Lloyd's Appeal Tribunal, a Lloyd's disciplinary committee, a Lloyd's Agent or certain subsidiaries of the Society and their officers, employees or agents; or
(g) where the Ombudsman considers that the complaint should be determined by a court of competent jurisdiction or by arbitration.
Full details of the Ombudsman's powers to investigate a complaint are set out in the Members' Ombudsman Byelaw, a copy of which may be obtained from the Ombudsman's assistant, Susan Cooper, on +44 (0)20 7327 6363.
Should you wish to make a complaint, the Ombudsman considers written representations but does not hold oral hearings. Please submit full written details of your complaint, along with any supporting information, to the following address:
The Lloyd's Members' Ombudsman
Lloyd's
One Lime Street
London
EC3M 7HA
UK
Should you have any questions concerning the Lloyd's Members' Ombudsman, please call the assistant to the Ombudsman on the number given above.
Footnotes :
1. See DISP 1.7.14 " Complaints from members "
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2. Essentially a corporate member consisting of an individual or a group of connected individuals or nominees of such an individual or group of connected individuals (together with, in the case a Scottish limited partnership member, another person who is the general partner in that partnership).
