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Complaints Procedure

Contact Details

Name: Wendy Johnson
Telephone: 01527 524418
Address: The Granary, Brockhill Court, Brockhill Lane, Redditch, B97 6RB
E-mail: [email protected]

Our Procedures

  • Any complaint, verbal or written, will be referred to our complaints manager at the earliest opportunity or to a member of the senior management if the complaints manager is unavailable.
  • We will also:
    • Acknowledge the complaint in writing promptly.
    • Give details in our acknowledgment letter of the Financial Ombudsman Service.
    • Make contact to seek clarification on any points where necessary.
    • Fully investigate the complaint.
    • Keep you informed of our progress.
    • Discuss with you our findings and proposed response.

You will receive contact from us advising on progress if we cannot respond immediately. We will let you have our final response as soon as possible and not later than eight weeks.

Adviser or Provider

Clients often express dissatisfaction to their adviser about the product provider. We will need to establish whether or not your complaint relates to the advice given, the adviser service, or the service or performance of the product provider. If unclear, this must not delay investigation, and we will proceed with our own investigation. The complaints manager will review this matter and take the complaint to the provider if appropriate in consultation with you.

Investigation

The complaints manager will establish the nature and scope of your complaint having due regards to the Financial Conduct Authority’s direction:

  • Deal with complaints promptly and fairly.
  • Give complainants clear replies and, where appropriate, fair redress.

Eligible Complainants

It is the firm’s policy to treat all complainants the same. However, eligible complainants are legally defined and have additional rights in law that we must acknowledge and adhere to.

Eligible complainants are those who have a potential claim against a firm based whereby it believes he/she has suffered a financial loss due to poor advice or service that are:

  • Private Individuals.
  • Companies within the EU definition of a microenterprise.
  • Charities with an income of under £1,000,000.
  • Trustees of a trust with assets of under £1,000,000.

The Financial Conduct Authority Complaints Rules

These apply to complaints:

  • Made by, or on behalf of, an eligible complainant.
  • Relating to regulated activity.
  • Involving an allegation that the complainant has suffered, or may suffer, financial loss, material distress, or material inconvenience.
  • Not resolved by close of business on the day following receipt.

Complaints Settled within 3 business days

Complaints that can be settled to your satisfaction within 3 business days can be recorded and communicated differently.

 

Where we consider a complaint to be resolved to your satisfaction under this section, we will promptly send you a ‘Summary Resolution Communication’, being a written communication from us which:

(1)    Refers to the fact that you have made a complaint and informs you that we now consider the complaint to have been resolved to your satisfaction;

(2)    We will tell you that if you subsequently decide that you are dissatisfied with the resolution of the complaint you may be able to refer the complaint back to us for further consideration or alternatively refer the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service;

(3)    Indicates whether or not we consent to waive the relevant time limits, (where we have discretion in such matters)

(4)    Provide the website address of the Financial Ombudsman Service; and

(5)    Refer to the availability of further information on the website of the Financial Ombudsman Service.

In addition to sending you a Summary Resolution Communication, we may also use other methods to communicate the information where:

(1)    We consider that doing so may better meet your needs; or

(2)    We have already been using another method to communicate about the complaint.

Final Response

This will set out clearly the firm’s decision and the reasons for it. If any compensation is offered, a clear method of calculation will be shown.

We must include details of the Financial Ombudsman Service in the final response if dealing with an eligible complainant and a regulated activity. We will:

  • Explain that the complainant must refer the matter to the ombudsman within six months of the date of this letter, or the right to use this service is lost.

Analysis

A root cause analysis will be undertaken by the firm in the case of any complaint, and this will be recorded with the appropriate action having been taken.

Closing a Complaint

  • Where the firm receives confirmation from you that you are satisfied with the findings of the investigation and any resolution, the complaint will be considered closed.
  • Where no confirmation has been received from you within 8 weeks of the firm’s most recent letter, the complaint may also be considered closed.

BVRLA

If a complaint is unresolved, customers can use the BVRLA conciliation service. Details should be submitted in writing or email to:

Chief Executive
British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association
River Lodge, Badminton Court
Amersham, HP7 0DD
Email: [email protected]

The BVRLA offers firstly an informal conciliation service, which aims to resolve complaints within 30 days. If a party to the dispute has asked for the matter to be escalated to the formal conciliation service, all relevant details will be promptly forwarded to the conciliation panel, a body whose members are appointed by the BVRLA board.

Financial Ombudsman Service

The firm must co-operate fully with the Ombudsman in resolving any complaints made against it and agrees to be bound by any awards made by the Ombudsman.

The firm undertakes to pay promptly the fees levied by the Ombudsman.

Contact Details:
Address: The Financial Ombudsman Service, Exchange Tower, London, E14 9SR
Tel: 0800 023 4567  
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk