GRG Complaints Process and Principles

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GRG Complaints Process and Principles

This section includes a variety of information on the GRG Complaints processes, including Frequently Asked Questions (‘FAQs’) on both the process principles and the process – just click on either of those headings below.

Our principles document includes detail on the following process points:

  • Scope and Background
  • Considerations/Basis of assessment
  • Limitations
  • Assurance
  • The ITP Appeals Process
GRG Principles [PDF 66KB]

FAQs: GRG complaints process principles


A) What is meant by changes to the “banking relationship”?


 

This refers to any aspects of a customer’s current banking arrangements with RBS that need to be amended as a result of an upheld complaint, for example changes to the interest rate, loan covenants or security arrangements.

 


B) What do you mean by goodwill payment?


 

In some circumstances where a complaint is upheld but there is no direct loss, RBS may make a discretionary goodwill payment to a customer to reflect the probable financial impact of the disruption that was caused to their business.

 

 


C) What do you mean by direct losses?


 

For the purpose of this GRG complaints process, 'direct loss' means sums of money paid by a customer to RBS or a customer’s out of pocket costs of meeting RBS’s requirements that were a direct result of an upheld complaint. Examples include:

 

  • arrangement fees

  • renewal fees

  • excess fees

  • increased interest payments made to RBS by a customer

  • costs and expenditure incurred by a customer in connection with an independent business review, a valuation report, a security review, or other actions required by RBS, or

  • costs and expenditure incurred by a customer for the appointment of a third party to the customer at the request of RBS.

 


D) What is DISP?


 

The Financial Conduct Authority published its complaints handling rules as part of the FCA Handbook, within the section entitled “Dispute Resolution: Complaints”.

 

These rules – sometimes referred to as the “DISP” rules – set out the procedures and requirements that businesses must follow when handling complaints from consumers. The rules include requirements on:

 

  • acknowledging and responding to complaints;

  • the time-limits for dealing with complaints; and

  • record-keeping and reporting.

 

Our commitment to DISP document can be found here [PDF 72 KB], or within the Complaints Process Principles section of our website.

 

DISP Dispute Resolution: Complaints is available on the FCA’s website: https://www.handbook.fca.org.uk/handbook/DISP/

 


E) Who is DISP eligible?


 

The DISP rules apply to the handling of complaints from consumers that are “DISP eligible”, meaning (generally) that they meet the following criteria:

 

A complaint:

 

  • regarding financial products and services;
  • provided in or from the UK;
  • brought by, or on behalf of, a customer or potential customer who is:

- a private individual;

- a micro-enterprise (meaning an enterprise which employs fewer than 10 people and has an annual turnover or balance sheet that does not exceed €2m at the time of making the complaint);

- a charity which has an annual turnover of less than £1m at the time of making the complaint; or

- a trustee of a trust which has a net asset value of less than £1m at the time of making the complaint.

 

DISP eligible complainants also have the right to refer their complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) for consideration and adjudication.

 

In summary, following the raising of a complaint to the bank, FOS referral rights are engaged in two ways:

 

  • If a DISP eligible complainant is unhappy with the final response to its complaint received from the bank, the complainant has a period of 6 months from the date of the final response to refer its complaint to the FOS; or

 

  • If the bank fails to provide a DISP eligible complainant with a final response to its complaint within 8 weeks (56 days) of the raising the complaint, the complainant has the right to refer its complaint to FOS.

 


F)  What is CPC?


 

The Consumer Protection Code (CPC) and the SME Regulations sets out the requirements that regulated entities must comply with when handling complaints from consumers, including Micro, Small and Medium size enterprises (SMEs) in the Republic of Ireland. The code includes requirements on:

 

  • acknowledging and responding to complaints;

  • the time limits for dealing with complaints; and

  • record-keeping and reporting.

 

Our commitment to CPC and SME regulations document can be found here [PDF 27KB], or within the Complaints Process Principles section of our website.

 

The Consumer Protection Code (2012) and the SME Regulations are available here.

 


G) Referral to the FSPO in Republic of Ireland


 

Under the CPC and SME Regulations complainants also have the right to refer their complaints to the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (FSPO) for consideration and adjudication.

 

In summary, following the raising of a complaint to the bank, FSPO referral rights are engaged in two ways:

 

  • If an eligible consumer complainant is unhappy with the final response to their complaint received from the bank, the complainant has a period of 6 years from the date of the occurrence of the event which they are complaining about to refer their complaint to the FSPO; or

 

  • If the bank fails to provide an eligible consumer complainant with a final response to their complaint within 8 weeks (40 business days) of raising the complaint, the complainant has the right to refer their complaint to the FSPO.

 

Further information can be found here.

 

 


H) Am I out of time to complain about an event in 2008?


 

The GRG complaints process is now closed. Any complaint should now be submitted to the bank’s complaint centre where it will be subject to any time limitations under the standard complaints resolution process. Please see the section on ‘How to make a complaint’.

 


I) How do I make an appeal?


 

An appeal form will be sent to eligible customers who submitted a complaint before 22 October 2018, along with their Outcome Letter. They will then have 56 days from the date specified on the Outcome Letter in which to issue an appeal with the Independent Third Party on any of the in scope aspects of their complaint.

 

This form will allow you to specify which aspects of the bank’s decision you wish to appeal. You are encouraged to provide the reason for your appeal including what facts or matters are relied on in saying the bank's decision or offer is wrong. You may also wish to provide additional information or evidence. However if you provide new material information or evidence it is likely that the bank will be asked by the Independent Third Party to re-review the complaint in the first instance before the appeal is considered.

 


Customer journey through the complaints process


If you make a complaint it will go through a number of process steps before an outcome is reached. This document sets out each of these steps in an easy to follow guide that will help you to understand the process and what the next steps will be following your involvement.

Customer journey through the complaints process [PDF 107KB]

FAQs: GRG complaints process

A) How did you define an in-scope customer for the GRG complaints process? 


 

A customer was in-scope for the GRG complaints process with independent third-party oversight if they met all of the following criteria:

 

  • A small or medium-sized enterprise (SME) customer

  • managed in the UK or Republic of Ireland

  • under the control of GRG during the period 2008-2013

  • submitted their complaint to us before 22 October 2018.

 


B) How do I make a complaint? 


 

The GRG complaints process is now closed to new complaints. However, any customer who wishes to raise a complaint can still do so. These complaints will be reviewed by the bank’s Complaints Centre, not by the GRG complaints process, and there will be no option of appeal to the Independent Third Party. 

 

Please follow the standard complaints process for your brand:

 

 

If you have an existing complaint and wish to speak to someone about your ongoing complaint please speak to the GRG Customer Helpdesk in the first instance. 

 

You can contact them via email: GRGCustomerHelpdesk@rbs.co.uk or, if you prefer, you can also write to the following address:

 

GRG Customer Helpdesk, PO Box 71875, London. N1P 1WZ

 

Alternatively you can call the helpdesk using one of the following numbers:

 

Telephone (UK): 0800 0294 370
Telephone (ROI): 1800 882 779
International: +44 184 222 6142
Text Relay (UK): 18001 0800 0294 370

 


C) Are there any reasons why you won’t review my complaints?


 

Yes. The review process is not appropriate for complaints that have previously been the subject of a decision by the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (FSPO) in the Republic of Ireland or of the courts. It also may not be appropriate to consider complaints from customers in ongoing litigation against the bank or who have threatened litigation in formal Letters Before Claim unless the customer and RBS agree to stay those proceedings while the complaint is being considered.

 

The review process will not make a determination on legal causes of action or in relation to allegations of criminal behaviour, fraud, dishonesty or other issues of conscious impropriety by RBS or its staff. Customers should refer any such allegations to the appropriate authorities.

 

Further detail about the complaints process has been provided in the complaints process principles [PDF 77KB].

 


D) What do I do if I’m not in scope?


 

If you would like to complain you should contact your relationship manager. Alternatively, please follow the complaints process as detailed in FAQ B above.

 


E) How does the GRG complaints process work?


 

The GRG complaints process is for SME customers that were in GRG during the period 2008-2013. It is being delivered by a specialist team. An Independent Third Party, retired High Court Judge, Sir William Blackburne, undertakes an assurance and appeal role as part of the process. This adds a more robust and independent step to the complaints process to deliver fair outcomes should SME customers who were in GRG wish to complain about their treatment.

 

The bank will assess a customer’s complaint in the first instance and then advise the customer in writing whether the complaint has been upheld and, if so, whether the bank proposes to pay any compensation for direct losses incurred by the customer. All customers should have received this initial outcome letter.

 

The customer will have the option to appeal this decision to the Independent Third Party within 56 days of the date of the initial outcome letter. A customer can appeal against any aspect of the decision reached by the bank’s complaints process. This includes appealing against complaints that have been upheld by the bank but where the customer is unhappy with the outcome or the offer made by the bank.

 

If the customer appeals the bank’s decision, the Independent Third Party will reach their own conclusion on whether the complaint should be upheld or not and on what basis. The Independent Third Party will record their decision, including any award for direct loss only, and a brief summary of their reasons will be provided to RBS and the customer.

 

Subject to the customer accepting the Independent Third Party’s decision, the decision of the Independent Third Party will be binding on the bank.

 

Further detail about the complaints process has been provided in the customer journey [PDF 98KB] document which can be found in the complaints process principles section on the website.

 

The GRG complaints process is now closed to new complaints. However, any customer who wishes to raise a complaint can still do so. These complaints will be reviewed by the bank’s Complaints Centre, not by the GRG complaints process, and there will be no option of appeal to the Independent Third Party. 

 

Please follow the standard complaints process for your brand:

 

 

If you have any questions about this process please contact the GRG Customer Helpdesk by emailing 

GRGCustomerHelpdesk@rbs.co.uk

 

Alternatively you can call the helpdesk using one of the following numbers:

 

Telephone (UK): 0800 0294 370

Telephone (ROI): 1800 882 779

International: +44 184 222 6142

Text Relay (UK): 18001 0800 0294 370

 


F) How long will the GRG complaints process take?


 

As at the end of 2019 all customers who have submitted a complaint have received an initial outcome letter.  Some customers are still in the process of considering their offer or exercising their option to appeal to the Independent Third Party and some have asked us to consider a claim for consequential loss.

 

We are committed to completing the process as quickly as possible, but we must also ensure that the process is thorough. We will keep customers informed throughout to ensure they are aware of the status of their complaint. 

 


G) What do you mean by direct losses?


 

For the purpose of the GRG complaints process, ‘direct loss’ means sums of money paid by a customer to RBS or a customer’s out of pocket costs of meeting RBS’s requirements that were a direct result of an upheld complaint. Examples include:

 

  • arrangement fees
  • renewal fees
  • excess fees
  • increased interest payments made to RBS by a customer
  • costs and expenditure incurred by a customer in connection with an independent business review, a valuation report, a security review, or other actions required by RBS, 

or

 

  • Costs and expenditure incurred by a customer for the appointment of a third party to the customer at the request of RBS.

 

Further clarification on direct losses in the principles governing the review of complaints relating to RBS’s Global Restructuring Group is available in the complaints process principles [PDF 71KB] on this website.

 


H) Will you consider claims for consequential loss?


In the event that a complaint is upheld through the complaints process, and the customer accepts the decision, the bank will consider any claim for consequential loss that the customer wishes to pursue, based on the findings. In considering any claim for consequential loss, the bank will apply established legal principles to determine whether the loss is factually and legally attributable to it.

 

Any consequential loss claim will be considered by the same team in RBS that conducted the GRG complaints process. RBS’s outcome in respect of eligible consequential loss claims will be subject to appeal by the customer to the ITP.

 

Further details on our consequential loss principles [PDF 54KB], and about making a consequential loss claim can be found in our consequential loss guidance [PDF 102KB] and consequential loss case studies [PDF 104KB] documents, within the complaints process principles section of our website.

 


I) What is the role of the Independent Third Party?


 

The Independent Third Party plays a dual role:

 

(1) provides assurance that the process and methodology for the complaints review are appropriate and provides a framework that enables a thorough and robust assessment of complaints both at the outset and on an ongoing basis;

 

(2) operate the Independent Third Party appeals process. This will include:

 

  • where a customer appeals a decision made in the bank’s complaints review, assessing RBS’s actions that are the subject of the complaint having regard to certain standards
  • where the Independent Third Party decides it is appropriate, assessing and awarding compensation for direct loss, and
  • preparing a record of their decision in a short summary document and providing this to RBS and the customer. 

 

This applies to appeals submitted on any in-scope complaints and also subsequent appeals on consequential loss. 

 


J) Do all customers that complain have access to the Independent Third Party appeal process?


 

All in-scope customers whose eligible complaints were submitted by 22 October 2018 had the right of appeal to the Independent Third Party. This deadline extends to any subsequent appeals on consequential loss claims.
 

 


K) Can I speak to the Independent Third Party directly?


 

No, that is not thought to be necessary. The Independent Third Party’s role is to provide assurance and oversight of the GRG complaints process and operate the Independent Third Party appeals process

 

However, in exceptional cases where the Independent Third Party believes it is appropriate to do so, the Independent Third Party will have the option to ask a customer to provide evidence or arguments in person. There will be no obligation on the customer to provide evidence in person and deciding not to do so will not affect the Independent Third Party’s duty to deliver a fair outcome for the customer.

 


Consequential loss – Principles and Guidance


Our consequential loss principles document includes detail on the following points:


• Scope and background
• Definitions
• The high level process
• Types of Loss
• The ITP’s role in the Consequential Loss process

Consequential loss - Principles [PDF 54KB]

We have also produced a guidance note and case studies to help customers understand the different kinds of loss, together with a Customer Questionnaire, which customers may find helps them to structure a claim, all of which are below:

Consequential loss - Guidance [PDF 116KB] Consequential loss - case studies [PDF 104KB] Consequential loss - Customer Questionnaire [PDF 199KB]

FAQs: Consequential Loss

A) Am I able to make a consequential loss claim?


 

In order to make a claim for Consequential Loss, your complaint will first need to have been upheld, at least in part and you must have accepted the outcome.

 


B) How long do I have to submit my consequential loss claim?


 

A claim for Consequential Loss must be made within three months of the date of your acceptance of the bank’s [Offer/decision], either:

 

(1) as set out in the Complaint outcome letter (if you do not intend to appeal to the ITP); OR
(2) as set out in the final outcome letter following an appeal to the ITP (if you do intend to appeal to the ITP).

 


C) Originally I indicated I did not want to submit a CL claim, but now I do. Can I do so?


 

Yes provided you are eligible to make a claim. Please see FAQ A above to check you are in scope and FAQ B to check you are within time.

 


D) How long will it take for you to review my claim?


 

We are committed to completing the review of consequential loss claims as quickly as possible. The length of time taken will vary greatly depending on the nature and complexity of the claim. In some cases it will be necessary to get additional valuations which will obviously mean the assessment will take longer.

 

We will keep you informed throughout to ensure you are aware of the progress of your claim.

 


E) How much will you pay towards the cost of an initial meeting with an advisor?


 

In order to assist customers who feel they have suffered a Consequential Loss, the bank will meet the reasonable cost of an initial meeting with a professional advisor e.g. loss assessor (“initial advice costs”) to assist you in establishing whether you may have suffered a Consequential Loss, and if so, whether it is the type that could be adequately evidenced, and considered by the bank. In making this offer, the bank’s purpose is to seek to ensure that all customers have the opportunity to obtain preliminarily professional advice to best inform their decision as to whether to make a claim. 

 

The bank is willing to reimburse initial advice costs irrespective of whether or not you submit a Consequential Loss claim. 

 

We consider that a reasonable cost would normally be no more than £2,000 + VAT. We believe £2,000 should be sufficient to cover: 

 

  • A review of the bank’s outcome letter in respect of any complaints that have been upheld 
  • A meeting/discussion with the customer, potentially of a few hours to help them understand whether they might have grounds for a Consequential Loss claim and the conditions that they would have to meet in terms of evidence for that claim to be likely to be successful 
  • The preparation of a letter to the customer summarising the advice 

 

This offer does not extend to the cost of preparing and pursuing a Consequential Loss claim, merely to the initial advice costs. Some or all of those other costs may be recoverable if (and to the extent that) the Consequential Loss claim succeeds.

 

 


F) Will you pre-approve my advisors costs for the initial meeting?


 

Yes, the bank will pre-approve reasonable costs in relation to an initial meeting. If you wish to do this, please forward appropriate details to GRGCustomerHelpdesk@rbs.co.uk.

 

To receive such a reimbursement you will be asked to provide evidence of the costs and confirm the purpose of the meeting (for example, an itemised invoice). The advice which you receive at any such initial meeting will be confidential to you. The bank will not be concerned (or entitled) to know its contents.

 

 


G) What if I incur professional costs as a result of making a successful Complaint or Consequential Loss claim?


 

You may have incurred costs with a professional advisor in bringing your Complaint. If this is the case then, as part of any Consequential Loss claim you may make, the bank will consider a claim for professional costs where those costs are reasonable and were incurred in making a successful Complaint. In addition, the bank will consider a claim for reasonable professional costs incurred in bringing a successful Consequential Loss claim.

 

You will be required to provide a detailed time breakdown of the services provided and the fees associated with those services, as well as evidence of payment.

 

In order to determine the amount to be offered, the bank will assess the reasonableness of the amount claimed on a case by case basis, but will base its decision on an assessment of the following criteria:

 

  • Your particular circumstances – the extent to which these would justify the need for professional advice to assist with preparing the Complaint or Consequential Loss claim,

  • The complexity of the Complaint – recognising that claims for some types of Complaints (e.g. PPFAs) are inherently more complex to raise than for others (e.g. fees or interest), and

  • The success of the Complaint – as noted above, fees will only be considered in relation to successful Complaints

 

For the avoidance of doubt, fees that are dependent on the success of the Complaint or Consequential Loss claim, and based on a percentage of the amount offered by the bank, will not be considered.

 

Where the Complaint Outcome is appealable, the bank’s decision on any amount of professional fees will also be appealable to the ITP.

 


H) What sort of evidence should I provide in support of my consequential loss claim?


 

What is capable of being claimed as a Consequential Loss, along with the level of evidence required to meet the applicable legal tests, will depend on the facts of each case. You must provide sufficient evidence to demonstrate that it is more likely than not that the Consequential Loss you are claiming was caused by the unfair actions of the bank and/or the Direct Loss incurred. Therefore your claim should explain in as much detail as possible:

 

  • The particular loss you are claiming
  • The amount of loss you are claiming, and
  • How this loss was caused by the Direct Loss and/or unfair actions of the bank.

 

We are only able to consider claims for Consequential Loss which are supported by evidence. Please provide us with any documents and information which you think are relevant to your Consequential Loss claim, such as evidence of the loss suffered and the circumstances which gave rise to it. We will consider all evidence provided to us.

 

As a general principle, greater weight will be attached to evidence that was created at the time of the claimed loss, known as contemporaneous evidence. Greater weight is also likely to be given to factual evidence that is undisputed and/or verifiable. An example of contemporaneous and verifiable evidence would be bank statements from the time showing the amount of additional borrowing and the cost of that borrowing.

 

While the burden is on customers to provide sufficient evidence to demonstrate their claim, we will also consider any relevant evidence we have on our files when assessing your claim. However, to ensure that we do not miss anything, please provide us with any evidence that you think may be relevant, and as much information as possible to allow us to assess what additional evidence we may hold that would be relevant to your claim.

 

Examples of the types of evidence we would expect to receive will depend on the nature of the claim but some non-exhaustive examples include:

 

  • Bank statements
  • Board minutes
  • Statutory financial statements, management accounts or other financial records
  • Correspondence with third parties relating to failed attempts to raise funds from other sources
  • Correspondence relating to any business opportunity you would have pursued
  • Projections of the additional income or profit you would have made by pursuing that business opportunity, including supporting evidence or business plans
  • Copies of invoices for costs together with evidence of payment
  • Copies of loan agreements together with the relevant interest rates
  • Copies of contracts or written offers

 


I) How should I evidence Wasted Management Time both in terms of the loss incurred?


 

In simple terms, a successful claim for wasted management time requires you to establish that:

 

a) The underlying actions of the bank for which a complaint has been upheld resulted in a diversion of staff time within your business; and

b) That diversion caused a significant disruption to the business.

 

Once you have established this, then you should set out:

 

c) The quantification of any loss resulting from the business disruption. In some cases, it may be possible to directly quantify a loss of revenue attributable to the diversion of staff time (although normally these are considered to be loss of profits claims). However, where this is not possible, it is reasonable to infer that, but for the significant disruption, staff would have applied their time to activities which would have generated revenue (either directly or indirectly) for the business in an amount at least equal to the costs of employing them. As a result, we will accept quantification of the loss as the cost of employing staff (i.e. by reference to their salary/wages) to be used as a proxy to quantify financial loss to the business as a result of the disruption.

 


J) May I submit further evidence?


 

You will have one opportunity on receipt of your outcome letter to correct factual inaccuracies or provide material additional information, which was not recognised as material or not available at the time the claim was submitted.

 


K) How does the 8% interest paid on my Direct Loss impact my consequential loss claim?


 

RBS adds 8% Simple Interest to any Direct Loss amount offered as part of a Complaint outcome. This interest payment is intended to cover any Consequential Loss that may have been incurred, or opportunity that may have been lost, as a result of the unfair actions of RBS and/or the Direct Loss. In some cases Customers may feel that this adequately compensates them for their Consequential Loss.

 

When a claim for Consequential Loss is upheld, in quantifying any compensation offer, the bank will take into account the 8% interest already paid which means it may be off set to avoid double recovery.

 


L) Will I be entitled to 8% simple interest on my Consequential Loss claim?


 

We add 8% simple interest to any amount of Direct Loss awarded for an upheld complaint. The 8% is applied whether the Direct Loss is a fee, interest payment or any other kind of charge, since all represent a position where you are deprived of the use of the money for a period of time.

 

The 8% simple interest is not an admission that you have suffered a further loss, but is a proxy for the ‘opportunity cost’ to you for being deprived of the amount of the Direct Loss for a period of time and therefore to negate the need for you to bring a Consequential Loss claim, unless you believe your loss is greater than 8%.

 

However the same principle does not apply to awards for Consequential Loss. This is because Consequential Loss is a replacement of the proxy ‘opportunity cost’ by the actual amount of loss as evidenced by you. You cannot claim for Consequential Loss and also claim that you should receive a further 8% simple interest on top of that loss for an unspecified further loss or opportunity.

 

The only exception to this principle is that we will add 8% simple interest to the element of your offer of redress for Consequential Loss that is for evidenced out-of-pocket costs because we would have added these to your offer of Direct Loss had we been aware of them.

 

In the case of a payment awarded on a discretionary basis (such as a discretionary payment), as the award is not for a monetary loss, interest is not applicable.

 


M) Can I claim for Interest on Consequential Losses?


 

Yes. Should you believe that one Consequential Loss led to a further Consequential Loss (for example through the reinvestment of profits from one opportunity into another opportunity), you may claim for that additional loss. However you will be expected to evidence both losses as part of your Consequential Loss claim. Additionally, you can claim for an actual interest cost which has been incurred or loss of interest provided this can be evidenced.

 


N) I am a director/guarantor, can I claim for losses that I have suffered personally?


 

If you made a complaint as a Guarantor and that complaint was upheld, then you may also bring a claim for first party losses suffered in your capacity as Guarantor.

 

Otherwise the bank will only consider claims in relation to losses incurred by customers. Therefore, individuals connected to a customer, such as directors and/or shareholders are unable to make claims for Consequential Loss arising out of an upheld customer complaint, and so losses suffered by third parties will not be recoverable.

 

However, a guarantor does not always have to have an accepted upheld guarantor complaint in order to make a CL claim. 

 

Where a guarantor has had a personal guarantee liability called upon by the bank and there are upheld complaints in relation to the company, it is reasonable for a guarantor to raise a claim as part of the company claim that the unfair actions of the bank/GRG upheld in the company caused them to suffer a loss under their personal guarantee. 

 

The guarantor may not have necessarily made a complaint or received an upheld guarantor complaint outcome and therefore, the upheld company complaints would be the only route available for them to make a consequential loss claim.

 

We will assess the claim where we consider that the unfair actions of the bank/GRG upheld in the company may have caused a loss to the guarantor under their personal liability. Any offer of payment will be made to the guarantor. 

 

 


O) Can I claim for any additional tax liability that I may incur as a result of the Direct Loss or Consequential Loss payment?


 

Depending on your circumstances and any offer made by the bank, the receipt of a Direct Loss or Consequential Loss payment may generate a tax liability. If you are able to prove that you are in a worse tax position as a result of receiving a payment, relative to the tax that would have been incurred at the time, then a claim for the tax loss will be considered. This will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

 

You can either make a claim for tax loss once you are aware of your final tax position, alternatively the bank will consider a claim based on an estimated future tax position.

 


P) What are my options if I disagree with the bank’s response to my claim?


 

After you receive your Consequential Loss outcome letter the bank will accept one further submission in order to correct factual inaccuracies or provide material additional information, which was not recognised as material or not available at the time the claim was submitted.

 

Should you wish to challenge the outcome you may only do so through the Independent Third Party (‘ITP’) appeal process.

 

Subject to meeting the Financial Ombudsman Service (‘FOS ’) eligibility criteria, you may also have the right to refer your consequential loss outcome to the FOS free of charge. However, you must do this within six months of our final response to your consequential loss claim.

 


Q) What is the role of the Independent Third Party in consequential loss claims?


 

The ITP has agreed to hear appeals against Consequential Loss outcomes in relation to Eligible Complaints.

 


R) Can I make more than one consequential loss claim?


 

Only one Consequential Loss claim will be accepted for each Customer i.e. all interested parties must agree on the claim and it must cover all areas of Consequential Loss that the Customer wishes to claim.

 


S) I received a refund of a complex fee (under AFR), can I submit a Consequential Loss claim?


 

Any refund made under the AFR process was made on a voluntary basis by the bank, which means that the bank has not accepted any fault in applying the charges and, as such, a consequential loss claim cannot be brought.

 


T)  Will you take into consideration the cumulative effect of other remediation outcomes (such as the IRHP review)?


Where we are assessing a claim for consequential loss for a customer who also received redress under the IRHP review it may be appropriate to assess the claim based on the cumulative effect of both IRHP redress and the unfair actions of GRG. It is not necessary for you to claim that losses resulted from both.

In considering whether it is appropriate to include IRHP redress we will bear in mind the following:

• The loss should have been primarily caused by the unfair actions of GRG. If not then the claim should have been made in the IRHP review.

• In determining whether the loss was primarily due to the unfair actions of GRG consideration should be given to the relative cashflow impact i.e. if the amount of direct loss as a result of the unfair actions of GRG is immaterial it will be difficult to conclude the loss was primarily caused by GRG.

• Claims that were made in the IRHP review and were unsuccessful can be raised again and the assessment should be whether the combined impact of the two unfair actions caused the loss.

• We will review the IRHP CL outcome to ensure that the redress has not already been utilised to support an upheld claim.

• Similarly the timing of the cashflow impact should be considered i.e. if there is a significant time gap between the IRHP impact and, for example, unfair fees charged by GRG then it might be difficult to argue they worked together to cause the loss.

• In reviewing an IRHP CL Claim, and particularly where the redress periods are concurrent, it is appropriate to bear in mind what was claimed at the time i.e. whether or not the same counterfactual is being claimed now.

• For the avoidance of doubt the current GRG CL process cannot be used as a sweeping up exercise for claims that should have been made under the IRHP review and, for whatever reason, were not.

• The same considerations apply to other remediation projects.

 


Our commitment to DISP/CPC


We are committed to ensuring the fair treatment of all complainants and have designed our new complaints process to meet the best practice set out in the FCA’s Dispute Resolution (DISP) guidelines, and the regulations within the Consumer Protection Code (CPC) and SME Regulations for customers in the Republic of Ireland. We are committed to completing the complaints process as quickly as possible, but we must also ensure that the process is thorough, and it is taking longer than expected as we need to collate a significant amount of information in order to reach a decision. We will keep customers informed throughout to ensure they are aware of the likely timeframe for their complaint.

Our commitment to DISP [PDF 72KB] Our commitment to CPC and SME Regulations [PDF 27KB]

Restructuring


The document below provides an explanation of the bank’s Restructuring business.

RBS Restructuring explained [PDF 61KB]

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