This is the first of our quarterly insights reports, providing information about our casework since our launch on 15 February 2021 until 30 June 2021.

Having launched in February of this year, we are still a relatively new service, focusing on growing our understanding of our customers as we progress complex historical cases. 

Despite being new, we already had 483 registered cases before we launched, as we wanted to allow SMEs the opportunity to register. Currently, we have a total of 595 registered cases. The majority of our casework currently relates to historical disputes. 410 complaint registrations relate to an incident that took place between 1 December 2001 and 31 March 2019.  These cases are spread across the whole range of the eligible timeframe.

We are now actively working on over 350 cases. Our team members are spending significant amounts of time with each customer, making sure we get to the heart of the case.

And as our casework progresses, we have also reached a significant milestone: we have set up our first appeals panel in two cases. The panel will re-consider the decisions on both cases.

To improve awareness and make sure we’re able to help as many SMEs as possible, we have launched a communications campaign. The launch of the campaign aligns with the BBRS’ soon-to-be-released website tool, which has been created to provide additional support to customers unfamiliar with our service.

The creation of the tool follows feedback from customers and stakeholders regarding the complex nature of our eligibility criteria.  The website tool has been created to help them establish whether the BBRS is the right place for their complaint.

In some instances, we have been unable to progress cases as we have not received the required documentation. We understand that businesses may be contending with challenging working conditions, due in part to the ongoing pandemic, but we are unable to work on cases, or engage with customers, where we have not received a signed Customer Agreement and identity checks have been completed. 

The customer is at the heart of what we do, and we remain focused on delivering an excellent customer experience. We are a learning organisation, and continue to look for improvements wherever we can. 

We have established a dedicated Customer Directorate to ensure oversight of the customer journey and experience, and make changes where necessary. We ask customers for their feedback and change our approach where possible to improve their experience. For example, we have worked on some aspects of the document submission process – particularly where multiple individuals or third parties are involved in a business or case.

To ensure customers have a good understanding of what to expect from the BBRS, and how to prepare to use the service, we held three webinars for customers.

We are committed to providing further insights and data. 

We will publish insights on a quarterly basis, with the next one due in October 2021.

Additionally, our annual report, which will be published in early 2022, will contain detail about our operations, including:

• aggregated thematic data on the complaints we have considered and the Determinations and Final Determinations made;
• data showing customer experience and satisfaction;
• a report on the BBRS’ performance against the previous year’s strategic plan.