Complaints handling procedure

Hampton Bank | Complaints and Advocacy
Procedure CA-007 | Version 2.6 | Issued 3 March 2026 | Owner: Complaints Manager | Next review: March 2027

1. Purpose

This procedure explains how Hampton Bank receives, categorises, investigates and responds to customer complaints within the regulated time limits, and how complaints are reported each month.

2. Who this applies to

The Complaints and Advocacy team (40 staff, head office), contact centre agents who log complaints on first contact, and branch staff who receive written complaints at the counter.

3. Steps

1. Receive. Complaints arrive by phone, the web form, the complaints mailbox or in branch. Phone and branch complaints are logged in Hamlink with the complaint flag. Web form and mailbox complaints land in the shared complaints mailbox.
2. Log. A complaints officer collects mailbox items during the day, reads each one and creates a case in Hamlink if none exists. The date received is the date the clock starts.
3. Categorise. The officer selects a category and sub-category from the complaints category list (version held on the team drive). Some entries on the list are no longer used and are not removed.
4. Set reminders. The officer adds two diary reminders to their own Outlook calendar: one for the acknowledgement deadline and one for the response deadline.
5. Acknowledge. Send the acknowledgement letter from a Word template within the acknowledgement time limit.
6. Investigate. Gather file notes, call recordings and emails. Record findings in the Hamlink case notes and in a working folder on the team drive.
7. Respond. Draft the response letter in Word. A senior officer or the Complaints Manager reviews and approves it. Send it within the response time limit. If the limit cannot be met, send a delay letter.
8. Close. Record the outcome, any remedy paid and the date of the response. Close the case.
9. Report. By the fifth working day of each month, one officer counts complaints by category and outcome from Hamlink and the mailbox and builds the monthly report in a spreadsheet for the Complaints Manager.

4. Systems used

• Hamlink (the legacy CRM) for cases.
• The shared complaints mailbox for web form and email complaints.
• Outlook calendars for deadlines.
• Word letter templates, a team drive and a reporting spreadsheet.

5. Known pain points

• Deadlines live in individual calendars. If an officer is away, nobody else sees the reminder.
• Mailbox items depend on someone picking them up, so the time between receipt and logging varies.
• Categories are applied inconsistently, which affects regulator reporting.
• Monthly reporting takes one officer about two days.
• Complaints taken in the contact centre sit in the general enquiry list until a team leader notices the flag.

6. Records

Case records are kept for the period set by the bank's records policy. The Complaints Manager approves changes to this procedure.