The FCA has indicated that its policy statement finalising rule changes to the complaints handling regime will be released this week. The global law firm of Taylor Wessing has some key points it expects to be included.

The following points are expected to come up.

• Firms will be required to report complaints to the FCA across a more granular range of product or service categories and across a more granular list of 'causes' of complaint. They are likely to focus first and foremost on the cost and effort required to make these changes. This, in turn, will require significant amendments to the data and processing tools that staff use to deal with training, reporting systems and queries from customers.
• Although reporting across product type and causes of complaint is not a new concept, an increase in the granularity of categories will allow the FCA to which product types are causing consumers to complain (and for what reason) far more easily. This is likely to have knock-on effects on the FCA's thematic reviews and supervisory effort with firms.
• The FCA is likely to extend the period during which firms can deal with complaints informally from 1 to 3 days but, on the other side of the ledger, it is likely to compel firms to report this data (with the consequence that it becomes public), whereas previously they did not.
• The FCA is likely to make some changes to the so-called 'context rules' that enable firms to publish data about the size and focus of their sales and customers, with a view to their complaints data being seen in proportion to the sizes of their businesses. However, the revisions are unlikely to cure the problem of headline-grabbing figures being reported in the press, with the context seemingly a secondary consideration.
• Some firms do not trouble to sort their dealings with customers into 'complaints' as defined by the FCA (which include a measure of materiality) and more general queries and expressions of frustration. Instead, these firms treat all contact with customers in the same way. The revised rules may cause them to recalculate the merits of this approach, if it artificially inflates the complaints volume data published against their names.
• New rules on the extent to which firms can charge customers for post-sale phone calls will please customers and will require changes from some firms. The FCA is likely to distinguish between a basic rate and rates that are seen as excessive.

* Jonathan Rogers is a partner in the financial services regulatory group in Taylor Wessing's London office. He can be reached on +44 (0)20 7300 7000.