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(1) LBG did not always have all of the information required to
complete all of the Eligibility Tests and Suitability Tests at Step 1.
Where such information was missing, complaint handlers were
instructed to contact the customer and to ask appropriate
questions to gather the information. If a complaint handler failed
to carry out effective customer contact in these circumstances,
they would not have been able to complete the tests at Step 1 and
might have missed the opportunity to make a fair assessment of
the customer’s complaint at this step.
(2) If the customer complaint was not upheld at Step 1, the complaint
handler proceeded to Step 2. At Step 2, the complaint handler was
required to assess the credibility of a customer’s allegations and
concerns against the assumption that LBG’s PPI sales processes
were ‘compliant and robust’ (the Overriding Principle, set out at
paragraphs 4.37 and 4.48). If there was any ambiguity as to the
credibility of a customer’s concerns, the complaint handler was
instructed to attempt to contact the customer to clarify the
concerns and the relevant circumstances of the sale. LBG
instructed complaint handlers to assess customer credibility by
considering, among other things, whether the customer had
provided specific details about what happened when they were
sold the PPI and whether the customer’s representations (taken as
a whole) maintained a consistent and credible account. If a
complaint handler did not have a proper understanding of the
above, this could result in the customer’s complaint being unfairly
rejected.
4.27. Where customer contact was required, LBG instructed complaint
handlers to make ‘reasonable attempts’ to contact the customer.
4.28. Complaint handlers were instructed, in LBG’s customer contact guidance
between March 2012 and February 2013, that at a minimum they
should make ‘reasonable attempts’ to call customers by attempting
three calls (at different times of the day, and in accordance with any
preferred times and telephone numbers indicated by customers).
Despite this, during the Relevant Period LBG had identified that there
were persistent problems with customer contact and that this was a
major cause of unfair customer outcomes (see paragraphs 4.67 to