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What can be achieved:
Sunday Times + consumers
vs.
the Woolwich + Barclays
In September 2002, the Sunday Times began to
highlight extraordinarily poor service at the Woolwich Building Society
which provoked a deluge of reader response, culminating in a climbdown
by the Woolwich on the front page of the 27th October 2002 edition. The
much-criticised CEO quietly stepped down over the 'dead' Christmas
period; Barclays, the parent company, is at pains to point out the two
events are not linked...
The issue was first raised on 29/09/02 by Rupert
Steiner, editor of Prufrock, the light-hearted business column on the
back page of the Sunday Times business section - he highlighted the
problems he himself had experienced dealing with Woolwich customer
services. Within a couple of weeks, he had received over 300 letters
from Sunday Times readers cataloguing their own complaints. Steiner then
passed this dossier of complaints to the Financial Services Authority,
which has a duty to ensure banks have proper controls and adequate
procedures in place.
With the exposure working as a catalyst, documents
were then leaked to the Sunday Times - firstly an internal audit from
two years previously, rejected by senior management, exposing the very
origins of the problems being highlighted by readers and secondly,
details of a new education programme being implemented by the Woolwich
that cuts the amount of time that staff are given for training.
There then followed a summit meeting between Steiner,
Lynne Peacock, Woolwich chief executive, and John Stewart, Barclays
deputy chief executive (owners of the Woolwich). After five weeks of
coverage, the front page of the 27th October 2002 business section
announced 'Woolwich finally admits its customer service failures', and
went on to disclose that 'the situation became so dire that the bank,
bought by Barclays two years ago, discouraged new business... there have
been occasions where the service we offer our customers has not matched
the service that our customers expect and deserve.'
As a result of the Sunday Times's exposure, the bank
set up a special helpline and address for Sunday Times readers and
fast-tracked a number of specific initiatives to overcome its problems,
with a view to making 'important changes' imminently. Needless to say,
these results have only been achieved because of the commercial and
reputational pressure which collective consumer representation can bring
to bear.
The Sunday Times's final word on the matter was on
January 5th 2003 when the headline 'Final scene in bank farce' commented
on the departure of the chief executive.
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