Mr. Ger Deering:

One of the things we always check is whether the various codes have been implemented. The various codes from the Central Bank include how to deal with vulnerable customers. I am not saying that all elderly people are vulnerable, but some are. First, we would check to see whether the person is vulnerable and in that respect, whether the bank or financial institution dealt with them properly as a vulnerable customer. Going back to our changes, our new service suits elderly people and vulnerable customers much better than the old service. In the past, it was very much about document exchange whereas we now deal with people on the telephone. That can make access easier for many people, not just elderly people, who may find access difficult because they can now talk to somebody on the phone. I notice from the notes and messages we are getting from people that this is the kind of service they want. They want somebody to listen to them. One very interesting statistic we found from our research was that of the people who made a complaint to us who had been with larger institutions like banks and insurance companies, only 20% of them had managed to speak to somebody in that institution before they brought the complaint to us, which meant that 80% of them did not get to speak to anyone. We now get on the phone, talk and listen to people, get the financial institution on the other side, try to bring some reality to the difference and rebalance the arms between the two sides. It is the case that a financial institution is in a far better situation than an individual dealing with them. Our role is to rebalance the imbalance that exists between the resources of both parties.