New 'outcome survey' launches to bridge Consumer Duty validation gap

Comentis, the duty of care assessment company, has announced the launch of its new Outcome Survey. The full-service platform overlays customer sentiment with vulnerability data, enabling firms to move from reactive compliance to proactive consumer protection. 

The FCA recently confirmed that it is no longer enough for firms to simply identify vulnerable customers; they must see the same ‘good’ outcomes as everyone else.

However, Comentis says most firms are still relying on basic 1-5 star scales which can mask underlying issues. Its Outcome Survey platform is designed specifically to bridge this validation gap. 

The platform is purpose-built for the FCA's Consumer Duty requirements and aligned to its four pillars; consumer support, consumer understanding, price and value, and products and services.

Comentis’ discovery research found that clients often leave neutral scores but include critical feedback in free-form text - comments that are frequently missed by automated triggers in legacy systems. The new Comentis platform uses AI-powered sentiment analysis to identify these hidden themes across thousands of entries, ensuring no at-risk outcome goes unnoticed.

Jonathan Barrett, CEO and co-founder of Comentis, commented: “This is not just another survey, it’s a proactive risk management tool to close the validation gap in Consumer Duty compliance.

"Since the implementation of Consumer Duty, firms have struggled to move beyond the vulnerability identification phase. But now a new challenge presents; validation. The regulator now wants empirical evidence to prove that both vulnerable and non-vulnerable clients are receiving equally good outcomes.

“Most platforms just capture data and play it back. We’ve built a solution that triggers automated workflows. If a client provides a low score or a negative sentiment comment, the system immediately flags it to a supervisor so the issue can be addressed before it escalates. It’s about moving away from the reactive, to proactively ensuring good outcomes for all.

"The Outcome Survey will bridge the validation gap and give firms the ability to prove to the regulator that processes are working for everyone – and if they are not - fix them quickly, thereby demonstrating a genuine duty of care for clients."