— The ombudsman service at Sberbank has existed for six years, what are the results of your work?
— Over the years, we have evaluated more than 50,000 customer requests and revised the bank’s decision in 27% of cases. I would like to note that the revision in the vast majority of cases was not due to the fault of Sber, but to the fact that customers, when first contacting the bank, provided only part of the missing information or documents.
We also work proactively. In order to increase the level of financial literacy, since 2019 we have published a series of “Ombudsman’s Tips” videos in the Sberbank Online application and on our website, where we talk in detail about the problems faced by customers and how to solve them. to them.
The Ombudsman service has another area of activity: we started working not only with customers, but also with Sber employees who were faced with an unusual situation at work. For example, there was a conflict with the leader or the team. And we help solve these problems.
— It was mentioned that when the Ombudsman service was started, he would report directly to the head of the bank. Is this true and why?
– Yes that is right. This allows us to independently verify the client’s request and make a decision that may differ from the previous decision made by the bank. We work with both individuals and legal entities from the micro and small business segment. Customers who received the bank’s response to their initial objections and did not agree with it contacted us. The main task of the Ombudsman service is to conduct a comprehensive and objective examination.
How many applications do you typically process per month? Who is the main interlocutor and on what issues?
— On average, we handle around 750 requests per month. Most applications come from individuals, and women apply more often than men. Over the past year, the most common cause of complaints were disputes over collection of funds for enforcement proceedings and problems with debit and credit cards.
I can also give an example of a situation related to the remote service channel. In rare cases, the customer forgets to take the money that the ATM gives. In order to minimize the financial consequences for the client, the bank has developed a function that collects, recalculates, and credits the client’s account after a certain period of time. Unfortunately, in exceptional cases, the remaining cash is taken by the next user of the ATM. If such a user currently makes a transaction at an ATM using his card, it is possible to identify him as a customer of the bank. Therefore, in some of our cases, experts were able to identify who took the money, negotiate with it, and as a result, the amounts were returned to their previous owners.
– The Sberbank website states that the average time for consideration of an application is 30 days. Is it faster in practice?
– When we first launched our service, we were guided that most requests will be considered within up to 15 business days. Sometimes this period can be extended up to 30 days if the situation is complex and non-standard. In practice, we handled 75% of applications in less than 10 working days in 2022. Moreover, this period includes not only the expert’s work, but also the waiting period for additional information or documents from the customer.
– What principles is your work based on? Whose side does the Ombudsman take the most?
— Objectivity, independence and justice are our basic principles. If there is an error on the bank’s side, we fix it. If the specialist conducts a thorough check and understands that the customer’s requirements cannot be met, he contacts him and explains in detail the reason for such a decision.
However, it should be understood that we were contacted by a customer who encountered a problem, who has already received a response from the bank and does not agree with it. Therefore, it is very important to gain the trust of the client during the first interaction with the ombudsman service. We are constantly working to improve our processes and develop best practices for communicating with the customer, not only to meet their expectations, but also to anticipate them. In turn, after the completion of the service, customers note the competence of the specialist, his individual approach and the fairness of the decision.
— How much has the number of cases between the bank and customers decreased since the emergence of the ombudsman service?
“Our main task is the pre-trial resolution of the dispute. There are very few clients who apply for the Ombudsman service, do not accept and go to court. These are less than 0.5%. However, the correctness of the decision taken by the service is confirmed in judicial practice.
Considering the bank as a whole, the number of requests has indeed decreased, but this is influenced by many factors. I cannot fail to mention the important work done by the bank claims departments not only to solve the customer’s real problem, but also to prevent the problem from arising in this way, which is a great achievement of our product and IT departments. Here is a good example of our corporate investment business. The number of calls to the Ombudsman Service from customers of micro and small businesses is declining every year and is currently being made several times a month.
— Has your job affected the change in business processes at the bank?
— Customer testimonials are a valuable source of information for improving the customer experience. If we see that some processes or services are defective during the evaluation of the applications, we will definitely pass this information on to the relevant departments for correction.
Therefore, in 2020 we have seen an increase in requests from clients who fall for the frauds of so-called brokers (fraudulent transactions under the guise of brokerage services. – Ed.). We shared this information with colleagues from the cybersecurity and retail blog, who quickly developed mechanisms to protect our customers before this type of scam became popular with attackers. Thanks to this, we were able to prevent more than 1 billion rubles of damage in 2020.
— Do you need to involve a third party or consult with bank managers to resolve disputes?
– We discuss difficult situations with the heads of our regional banks under the leadership of the head office, and if necessary, we contact the relevant departments. However, the customer’s problem cannot always be solved only on the bank’s side. Sometimes we have to turn to the federal executive authorities for joint assistance to the client.
For example, a client contacted us who did not accept the amount of funds debited by order of the bailiff service, because after debiting the account the amount was below the subsistence level. Our audit showed that the bailiff’s bailout did not have a subsistence requirement. The bank cannot unilaterally keep the living wage in the account, only the bailiff can send this condition. As the client is currently abroad and cannot contact the bailiff in person, we have found an alternative way to resolve the issue remotely through Government Services. Our suggestions were implemented and the bank took the necessary decision from the bailiff. Funds in the amount of living wages are now available to the client.
Therefore, we are looking for the most suitable solution for each customer. Customers notice, notice, and thank you, too. Thus, the number of thanks for our service has doubled over the past year.