CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE
We recognise the importance of service and set ourselves high standards. Should there be an occasion when we do not meet your expectations, we are equally committed to dealing with any complaint in a thorough and professional manner, in accordance with the rules set out by the Financial Conduct Authority.
How can you make a complaint?
You can make a complaint by contacting us by any of the following means:
- In writing addressed to: Head of Compliance
- By telephone on: 01784 608100
- By email to: toni.richardson@verlingue.co.uk
Acknowledging your complaint
If your complaint is relatively straightforward it may be possible to resolve it very quickly. If we are able to resolve your complaint before the end of the third working day after it is received by us, we will send you a ‘Summary Resolution Communication’ promptly, with confirmation of the action we took to resolve your complaint.
In all other cases, we will send you a written acknowledgement of your complaint promptly, normally within five working days of receiving it. If you have made your complaint to us verbally, we will confirm to you our understanding of this and ask you to advise us if you do not agree.
Investigating your complaint
Your complaint will then be investigated by a senior official of the firm who is not directly or indirectly the subject matter of the complaint, and we will not charge you for this work.
In order to reach a fair conclusion, we will review the information available to us, which will include all records on our files along with a report from the individual to whom the complaint relates.
We will endeavour to complete our investigation and reach a conclusion as soon as possible. The length of time this will take will be determined by the complexity of the complaint and the extent of the investigation required. During our investigation we may ask you for additional information to help us to reach a conclusion.
We will keep you updated as to the progress of your complaint and the steps being taken to resolve it.
In the unlikely event that we are unable to complete our investigation and issue a final response letter to you within eight weeks of the date of receiving your complaint, we will write explaining why we are still not in a position to make a final response, giving reasons for the further delay and indicating when we expect to be able to make a final response.
If you are an eligible complainant for the purposes of the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), we will also inform you that you may at this stage refer the complaint to the FOS if you are dissatisfied with the delay and we will provide you with a copy of the FOS’s explanatory leaflet.
The FCA defines an eligible complainant as a customer or potential customer which, at the time the complaint is received, is one of the following:
- A private individual; or
- A commercial customer with a turnover of less than £6.5 million (or its equivalent in any other currency) and which either (a) employs fewer than 50 persons, or (b) has a balance sheet total of less than £5 million (or its equivalent in any other currency); or
- A charity with an annual income of less than £6.5m; or
- A trustee of a trust that had a net asset value of less than £5m.
Providing our final response
Once we have completed our investigation, we will write to you with the results of our investigation and explain our conclusion.
If you are dissatisfied with our response, and you are an eligible complainant as described above, you may refer your complaint to the FOS, details of which will be provided to you.
The FOS will review our investigation and the response which you have received, providing you with an independent assessment of your complaint without any charge to you.
If you cannot settle your complaint with us and have no entitlement to refer it to the FOS, you can escalate the matter to our Executive Chairman, Neil Campling.
LLOYDS POLICYHOLDERS
If you are a Lloyd’s policy holder and are dissatisfied with our handling of your complaint you may refer your complaint to Lloyd’s by contacting:
In Writing: Complaints Team Lloyd’s Fidentia House Walter Burke Way
Chatham Maritime
Chatham
Kent ME4 4RN
By email: complaints@lloyds.com
By telephone: +44 (0)20 7327 5693
By fax: +44 (0)20 7327 5225
Website: www.Lloyds.com/complaints
Details of the Lloyd’s complaints procedure are set out in the leaflet “Your Complaint – How We Can Help” available at www.Lloyds.com/complaints and are also available from the above address.
Complaints Analysis
We take all complaints seriously and regularly analyse any complaints received to identify root causes and any trends. We also review decisions made by the FOS against any decisions that we have made on similar cases. We use the resulting information to improve our services and the way that we handle future complaints through amended processes and staff training.