Complaint Handling

The FCA define a complaint as any oral or written expression of dissatisfaction - whether justified or not - about any financial services activity provided or withheld by a firm, where the complainant has suffered financial loss (or may do in the future), material distress or material inconvenience.

When you get a complaint you are required to respond to it accordingly and within set timescales. Complaints should ideally be reviewed independently to give an unbiased decision and all the points raised in the complaint should be answered.

We can review your complaint and examine any paperwork providing an independent opinion on the matter. We can provide a written final response to the complainant to answer any claims made and if possible defend you against any financial loss. Whilst we have defended a large number of complaints on behalf of clients, we are reliant on the quality of the paperwork and the advice at the time of the sale.

If you don't have a documented complaints procedure, or a complaint log or tracking sheets then we can provide these templates for you. It's not acceptable under the FCA's rules to not have these in place and simply state you've never needed them as you don't get complaints. You have to have the systems in place.

Complaint handling can sometimes be very stressful and time consuming, we can help ease this by giving our professional opinion and response on the matter and provide the advice and guidance you need together with our expert opinion on the likely outcome.

How do I deal with the complaint

1. Investigate it
2. Assess fairly and promptly: what it is about; whether it should be upheld; and what action/redress should be taken.
3. Provide fairly and promptly: a clear assessment of the complaint; and an offer of redress or remedial action, if appropriate.
4. Ensure any offer made is settled promptly.

Keeping the complainant informed

When you receive a complaint you must send the complainant a prompt written acknowledgement that the complaint has been received and is being dealt with. After this, you must ensure the complainant is kept up-to-date with progress in resolving their complaint.

Time limits

You must send a final response to a complainant within eight weeks of receiving the complaint. If you are not able to provide a final response at this stage, you must write to the complainant explaining why and when you will be able to provide a response. You must also inform the complainant of their right to refer the complaint to the financial ombudsman service and provide details of this service.

Please contact us for a no obligation quotation and more information.

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