BBRS Conciliation - Guidance

What is conciliation?

Every opportunity to assist the parties to reach an agreed settlement was explored at the BBRS. To facilitate this the BBRS offered both Mediation and Conciliation processes.

For more information on Mediation see the Mediation guidance here.

Conciliation was an informal process, where the opportunity for a negotiated agreement was facilitated by a BBRS Customer Champion, who was trained in facilitated settlement and dispute resolution. This was offered to the parties when the Customer Champion considered that the parties may be open to settling the matter and was not reflective of any assessment on the merits of cases.

The principal features of conciliation were that it:

• involved an experienced facilitator of negotiations assisting the parties to reach an agreement
• was confidential and without prejudice – whatever happened during the conciliation would not have any impact on a case assessment, if the conciliation was not successful
• involved the customer and a representative of the bank, both with sufficient authority to settle the dispute
• was flexible and straight forward, with no set procedure, enabling the process to be designed and managed by the Conciliator to suit the parties, in consultation with them
• enabled the parties to devise solutions which were not possible in a case assessment process, and which may benefit all the parties

What are the benefits of conciliation?

The conciliation process offered a number of possible benefits to the parties, in comparison to adjudication:

• Early Resolution – Conciliation, while possible throughout the BBRS process, was most likely to be used very early on after a complaint had been referred to the BBRS, where it appeared both parties might be open to making offers to settle
• Speed – The conciliation process could happen quickly and could take place over a short time period – normally about four weeks. The opportunity to have the dispute resolved in a shorter timeframe could benefit both parties
• Parties controlled the outcome
  • Working with the Conciliator, the parties could develop a settlement that met their needs
  • Each side would need to agree to settle and what the terms of that settlement may be

This meant an agreement could cover things that could not be ordered in a case decision.

Is there a cost for the conciliation?

This was part of the BBRS approach to resolving these matters and there was no cost to the customer in agreeing to conciliation.

Who was the Conciliator?

The BBRS Customer Champion assigned to the case was the Conciliator. All Conciliators were trained in settlement facilitation and dispute resolution. If, following early discussion with both parties, they felt there might be a willingness to engage in settlement discussions, they would raise conciliation with the parties. If agreed by both, the Customer Champion would begin the conciliation process.

What did customers need to do to prepare for conciliation?

Once conciliation was agreed, the process would be undertaken through conversations between the Conciliator and the parties separately. There was no specific documentation that was required. The Conciliator did have access to the documents and claim information supplied as part of the application process.

How did the process actually work?

The process was conducted completely over the telephone or via videoconference call.

Once the parties had agreed to conciliation, the Customer Champion acting as Conciliator, would have an initial conversation with the parties. The purpose of the call was for the Conciliator to fully understand what issues were relevant to settlement, and how each party viewed the possibilities of settlement.

These calls were also a good opportunity for the parties to ask the Conciliator any further questions they may have had about the process. This could include a discussion about how the process was going to work, next steps and timelines.

Following the initial contact, it was very likely that there would be a number of subsequent conciliation calls with the parties, as the process of facilitated settlement negotiation began.

These calls could cover:

• Discussion on the issues and needs of the parties
• Possible settlement terms necessary for agreement to be reached
• Detailed offers and counteroffers

As a result of this process, either  party could make a written offer to the other party, which the Conciliator would facilitate as well as any response to that offer.

Once an agreement had been agreed in principle, whether verbally or via written offers, the bank would draft a more detailed settlement. The Conciliator would contact the customer and ensure that they had read and fully understood the settlement terms and agreement.

If the customer accepted the settlement agreement, then this would be signed by both parties, and at this point would become binding on both of them.

Is it confidential?

The process was confidential and was a side-step from the case assessment process to allow the parties to attempt to agree a settlement. For this reason, nothing said or disclosed during the conciliation would be disclosed to a Case Assessor, should the conciliation not be successful.

How long does conciliation take?

One of the advantages of conciliation was that the parties had an opportunity to agree an outcome more quickly than a decision would be given through the case assessment process. The exact timeframes would differ from case to case, but in general:

• When conciliation had been suggested by either party or the BBRS, there would be a period of around one week for the parties to decide whether they wished to proceed with conciliation. This period could be extended at the Customer Champion’s discretion
• Once conciliation had been agreed, the Conciliator would work with the parties to agree a negotiated settlement within a period of four weeks
• If settlement had not been agreed within this time, the case assessment process would be resumed unless both parties agree to extend the conciliation process for another four weeks
• Conciliation was flexible, and these timeframes depended on the availability of and timely responses from the parties. Whatever the timeframe, the BBRS would keep both parties up to date on what to expect and what was happening next.

How does a conciliation conclude?

The conciliation could end in a number of ways:

• by settlement of the dispute in whole or part, when all agreed matters would be written down and signed by the parties to be binding
• by one or more parties indicating they no longer wished to continue conciliating, before settlement was achieved
• agreement not having been reached within 6 weeks, and where in the Conciliator’s opinion, settlement was unlikely

Once an agreement had been agreed in principle, whether verbally or via a written offer, the bank would draft a more detailed settlement agreement which would be sent to the customer. The Conciliator would contact the customer and ensure they had read and fully understood the settlement terms and agreement.

If the customer accepted the settlement agreement, then this would be signed by both parties, and at this point both parties would be bound by the contract. Either party could take legal action against the other if that party failed to honour their obligations, as detailed in the agreement.

If settlement was not ultimately reached, then the case assessment process would be restarted at the point it was paused for conciliation.