The company has an obligation to address client complaints. Policies and procedures regarding retail client complaints relate to three activities: internal complaint handling, Ombudsman file handling and dispute follow-up.
The company adopts the following principles for handling retail client complaints:
Commercial department on the front line, Compliance Officer on the back line
Complaints are initially handled by the commercial department, which can at any time transfer the file to the Compliance Officer. The Compliance Officer may, on his own authority, take over the handling of a complaint.
Prompt handling of the complaint
The company makes every effort to ensure that a client's complaint is dealt with as quickly as possible and that a definitive response is provided as quickly as possible.
Systematic reporting
All employees, regardless of their responsibilities or areas of expertise, practice systematic reporting of complaints.
Listening to and understanding the client's needs
Throughout the process of handling the client's complaint, the company makes sure to identify the client's request and needs behind the complaint.
A complaint is a written statement from a client or a person with standing (e.g. owner, co-owner, agent, lawyer) that the client is not satisfied with the services provided by the company.
The company does not consider a simple question or request for information as a complaint (file to be processed by the client service collaborator).
The sales department is primarily responsible for handling client complaints. It may instruct the Compliance Officer to handle a complaint. The Compliance Officer may also take over the handling of a complaint on his own authority.
The complaint procedure is a written procedure. The sales department will therefore only follow up on a letter, fax or e-mail (provided that the e-mail address used is the one listed in the client identification).
Complaints are kept in a separate file to which the sales department and the Compliance Officer have access at all times. The complaint tracking table is then completed by the commercial department as follows:
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Table fields |
Explications |
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Complaint number |
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Status |
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Client account |
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Department |
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Company theme |
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MiFID theme |
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Object |
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Date complaint received by the company |
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Date complaint received by the Commercial Department |
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Date of sending acknowledgement of receipt to the client |
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Date answer sent to client |
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Decision |
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Financial impact for the company |
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Remarks |
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Suggestion for improvement |
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As soon as a complaint is received, the person in charge of the complaint in the commercial department communicates it without delay to the Compliance Officer, attaching all the information and documents received.
The following time limits must be met in processing a complaint:
Communication of the complaint to the complaint manager of the commercial department within the 7 working days following the receipt of the complaint by the client;
Sending of an acknowledgement of receipt or a response by the complaint manager of the commercial department to the client within the 5 working days following the receipt of the complaint;
In the event of failure to meet this deadline, the complaint manager of the commercial department will send a warning to the client and inform him of the deadline within which he will receive a response.
The various elements that must be taken into consideration for the proper handling of a complaint are:
Identifying the problem (if it is not clear from the client's writing, asking the client to clarify what the complaint is about);
Discussing the complaint with the Account Executive and/or the relevant department;
Collecting useful documents (e.g. copies of contracts, orders, slips, statements, portfolio situations, prospectuses);
Referring to the applicable legislation and having regard to the case law and doctrine as well as the opinions of the College of Ombudsman;
Please refer to the company's General Conditions.
The complaint manager of the commercial department may call upon other departments to help prepare the handling of the complaint (e.g., assistance in defining the problem, collection of relevant documents and evidence).
While the handling of a complaint generally does not require the use of in-house counsel, some sensitive complaints may require consultation with, or even a response from, in-house counsel.
The complaint manager of the commercial department responds to complaints in a clear, simple and easy to understand manner.
Each complaint file is stored electronically in an individual file containing all complaints in the company's IT system. In particular, a complaint is recorded and handled via the "Case" object.
The Compliance Officer is the only person competent to deal with cases coming from the Ombudsman. Cases coming from the Ombudsman are only admissible if they have first been the subject of a complaint. If this is not the case, the department will write to the Ombudsman stating that the case is inadmissible and giving the reason.
The procedure before the Ombudsman is a written procedure, but the Ombudsman may establish telephone contact to clarify any point in the case.
An "Ombudsman & Litigation Files Report" file containing the cases referred to the Ombudsman or litigation is completed. This report is structured as follows:
Cases brought before the Ombudsman
Cases brought before the courts and tribunals
Follow-up of the judicial execution of decisions that have become res judicata
Cases subject to a settlement
Summary of figures
Lawyers' fees
Timeline
Closed files
Miscellaneous
A case only disappears from this file when it is closed.
The Ombudsman will receive a response within one month of receiving the case.
Particular attention is paid to the consistency between (i) the response sent to the client in the context of the handling of her complaint and (ii) the response to be sent to the Ombudsman.
While the handling of a case from the Ombudsman does not generally require the use of in-house counsel, some sensitive cases may require consultation with or a response from in-house counsel.
An electronic version of the correspondence exchanged in this context is kept.
Litigation follow-up is done in collaboration with the company's lawyers (i.e. different law firms depending on the subject matter of the litigation).
As soon as a subpoena is received, an e-mail is sent immediately to the company's lawyers with the subpoena attached, as well as any useful exhibits and evidentiary documents, and any information that may be useful in understanding the case.
Timeframes for submissions and hearing dates are listed in both the relevant section of the "Ombudsman & Litigation Files Report" and in the calendar of the manager of the case in the company.
The manager of case in the company, together with the lawyer, ensures consistency between (i) any correspondence exchanged in the context of a complaint / prior Ombudsman file and (ii) the submissions to be drawn up in the context of the litigation.
The Complaints Manager of the Commercial Department makes a monthly written internal report to the Compliance Officer.
The Compliance Officer reports quarterly to the Executive Committee.
The Compliance Officer reports to the FSMA. This report is related to MiFID complaints and shall be sent to FSMA every year by June 30, including the data as of December 31 of the previous year.
In order to learn as much as possible from the complaint files, the Compliance Officer makes his reports available to the Executive Committee, the Board of Directors and the Internal Auditor.
At the beginning of the year, the Compliance Officer must contact all the lawyers defending the company's interests to request a reporting letter, i.e. a letter in which the lawyers present, for each case, a brief description of the current situation of the litigation, the amounts involved and the grounds for the action, an estimate of the probable outcome of the case and its financial stakes, as well as any other information likely to have an influence on the company's financial situation.
The Executive Committee reserves the right to update the policy and procedures regarding retail client complaints in accordance with legal requirements.
The Compliance Officer is responsible for enforcing this policy and implementing these procedures within the company.