TIO Annual Report 2003/04

Summary of Complaint Handling Performance

Complaint Mix

In 2003/04 the TIO received 59,850 complaints, an increase of 7.8% from the previous year. This increase was greater than predicted and appears to show a genuine growth in consumer need for the services of the TIO.

It also probably partly reflects TIO Members’ inability, in the first instance, to deal with complaints before consumers seek the TIO’s help. In several instances this year, Members have drastically underestimated take-up of new products leading to excessive consumer enquiries and delays.

In 2003/04, 89.7% of all complaints were resolved at Level 1, just over a one percentage point increase on last year. This indicates a lack of resources needed by the TIO to escalate complaints rather than an improvement in Member responses.

In 2003/04, Level 2 complaints made up 7.8% of all TIO complaints, down from 8.6% the previous year, while 2.5% of all complaints were escalated to Level 3.

However, despite meeting case-raising benchmarks, with all staff working to capacity, the TIO had a large backlog by the end of the year.

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