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The FSA has today fined Bank of Scotland £3.5m for mishandling complaints. Mathew Rutter, financial services partner at national commercial law firm Beachcroft, commented:
"Although, in this case, it was a bank that was fined, all firms should pay attention. The fine was not for mis-selling, but for sub-standard complaints procedures. For example, the FSA found failures to investigate complaints properly and to assess complaints fairly. It also highlighted a failure to carry out adequate root-cause analysis of complaints and deficiencies in record keeping. "All firms - insurers, brokers, advisers, asset managers - are subject to the same rules in relation to complaints, so this should act as a reminder of what the FSA expects. When the FSA issued its report last year on complaint handling in banks, it urged all firms, not just banks, to take note of its findings. It would be wrong to think that this issue is confined to banks."