On 13 October 2017, the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (the "CSSF") issued Circular 17/671 specifying CSSF Regulation 16-07 on out-of-court resolution of complaints (the "Circular 17/671"). This circular repeals and replaces CSSF Circular 14/589 specifying CSSF Regulation 13-02 on out-of-court resolution of complaints. The new Circular 17/671 revamps and further develops the content of Circular 14/589.
First, it is expressly required that the customer must be informed about the existence of the out-of-court resolution by the CSSF if he/she does not get a satisfactory answer from the professional. It is permissible that the professional does not adhere to the CSSF's procedure on the out-of-court resolution. However, the CSSF strongly encourages and expects the professionals to do so in order to guarantee that customers have an access to resolution procedures and to avoid that they have to renounce their complaint. The professional must communicate to the customer the need to file the request to the CSSF within one year from the initial claim.
Concerning the yearly communication to the CSSF, Circular 17/671 clarifies that it shall include only information related to financial products and/or services. The synthetic report for the CSSF is also not supposed to be a compilation of summaries on lodged complaints by customers but must present the main problems encountered by the professional and a summary of undertaken measures. The table containing the number of registered complaints classified by type of complaint and the synthetic report must also include information on the complaints submitted to the professional's branches situated abroad.
The required documents must be submitted to the CSSF at the latest on the 1st of March of each year covering the previous calendar year, except for chapter 15 management companies, for which the deadline is one month after the AGM approving the annual accounts.
The Circular 17/671 is available via following link.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
