Complaints Handling Procedure

Complaints Handling Procedure – Finance Related

Policy objectives

The main aim of this policy is to ensure that all complaints are responded to and resolved promptly, fairly and in a professional manner. This policy will also ensure suitable records are maintained so management can monitor the level and type of complaints received in order to make systemic changes where necessary.

1.1 Responsibility for this policy

The Approved Person has responsibility for ensuring this policy is accurate, kept up to date and the procedures are followed.

This policy will be reviewed annually as well as where there are either significant changes in the regulatory environment or the internal processes. These changes will be made in a timely manner and, wherever practical, will be introduced alongside the new regulation or processes. Any changes to this policy will be communicated to all employees.

1.2 Complaints Officer

The Complaints Officer has principal responsibility for investigating complaints and determining the amount of redress, if any, which should be offered to the customer. Therefore, wherever possible, all complaints, from any department, should be directed to the Complaints Officer as soon as is practicably possible. For example, in a complaint received by the sales department, service department, or parts department, where the goods were purchased using finance facilities.

If the Complaints Officer is unavailable, then complaints should be directed to a designated deputy or the the Approved Person.

1.3 Business day

Business days are Monday to Friday excluding bank holidays. Anything delivered either by post or electronically on a non-business day, or after 5pm on a business day, will be considered to have been received on the next business day.

1.4 Telephone communications

In regard to complaints made by telephone, the only telephone numbers which will be used will be those charged at no more than ‘basic rate’. For these purposes a basic rate is defined as ‘the simple cost of connection and does not provide a firm with a contribution to its costs or revenues.’

2. Defining a complaint

The elements of a complaint are:

Any oral or written expression
A complaint can be either spoken or written. A customer is not obligated to put a complaint into writing, an oral complaint is sufficient.

Expression of dissatisfaction
This is any statement from the customer that they found any aspect of the product or service unsatisfactory or unacceptable. This includes both the product itself and the finance.

Whether justified or not
A complaint cannot be dismissed, and the complaints procedure not followed, simply because the issue is thought to be trivial or unbelievable. If the complaint is referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), FOS will establish whether the FCA’s complaints handling rules have been adhered to and will find in the customer’s favour if they have not.

From, or on behalf of, a person
Complaints may be made on someone’s behalf. It would be reasonable in these situations to confirm the person has the authority to make the complaint, but this should not be used as a way to delay investigating the matter.

About provision, or failure to provide
The complaint can be about the actual product or service provided but may also be about the customer’s expectations. For example, was it clear to the customer exactly what they would receive? Did the customer understand this information? If not, it may be a valid complaint as the customer had not received what they believed they would.

Alleges that the complainant has suffered (or may suffer) financial loss, material distress or material inconvenience
This element is what separates a comment or query from a complaint. The customer has got to be alleging that they are worse off in some way. If in any doubt, treat the expression of dissatisfaction as a complaint.

Relates to an activity under the jurisdiction of FOS
If the customer is not an eligible complainant (see section 3 below), and so do not fall under the jurisdiction of FOS, then the FCA complaints procedure does not have to be followed. However, customers who are not eligible complainants should still be treated with the same degree of consideration.

In the interest of providing appropriate outcomes for our customers, we will deal with all complaints as if they were eligible, the only exception being their ability to refer the matter to the Financial Ombudsman service and reporting the complaint to the Financial Conduct Authority.

3. Defining an eligible complainant

An eligible complainant refers to people or entities with potential entitlements to claim against a firm in circumstances where they have suffered a financial loss due to poor advice or services. In order to be treated as ‘eligible complainants’ the customer must fall into one of the following categories:

A consumer
This is someone buying goods or services for their personal use.

Microenterprise
These are companies falling within the EU definition of a microenterprise which means that it must have:

• Fewer than ten employees
• A balance sheet total below €2 million (around £1.7 million)
• A turnover below €2 million (around £1.7 million)

Charities with an annual income of under £6.5 million
The income must be less than £6.5 million at the time the complaint was made.

Trustees of a trust with assets of under £5 million
The net asset value must be less than £5 million at the time the complaint is made.

A small business (only an eligible complainant if the conduct took place after the 1st April 2019) Defined as:

• Not being a micro-enterprise
• Having an annual turnover of less than £6.5m, and,
• Employs fewer than 50 people, or
• Has a balance sheet total of less than £5m

A guarantor
An individual who has given a guarantee or security in respect of an obligation or liability of a person which was a micro-enterprise or small business as at the date that the guarantee or security was given.

At this stage it is also important to remember that a complaint can be made by the customer or someone who has the authority to act on their behalf.

Throughout this document, an ‘eligible complainant’ will be referred to as a ‘customer’.

4. Complaints handling procedures

The first step of the complaints procedure, whether informal or formal, is to log the complaint on the PPL Artemis system within 24 hours of its receipt. The Artemis system should be kept up-to-date as the complaint progresses through either the informal or formal complaints handling process.

In addition, complaints may be held on Salesforce for internal purposes.

On receiving a complaint, it is important to distinguish between a complaint which could be resolved within three business days and those which will take longer to resolve. If it is thought the complaint will not be resolved within three business days, then the formal complaints procedure should be used immediately.

4.1 Informal complaints handling procedure (complaints which can be resolved within three business days)

If it is believed that the complaint can be resolved within three business days, then a more informal process can be followed. However, it is still a requirement that the complaint be fully investigated.

When the complaint has been investigated and the customer has accepted the issue has been resolved, a summary resolution communication must be sent to the customer. This must be sent without delay on the firms’ headed paper. The Communication should:

• Refer to the fact that the customer made a complaint and the matter is now considered to be closed;
• Inform the customer that if they are dissatisfied with our response, they can refer the complaint to FOS;
• Tell the customer they have 6 months from the date of the summary resolution communication to refer the complaint to FOS
• Provide the website address of FOS (http://www.fos.org.uk/);
• Advise the customer that further information is available on the FOS website; and
• Include a FOS leaflet.

For these purposes, a complaint is considered to be resolved when a customer indicates their acceptance of the response. This response does not have to be in writing, although, for the purposes of maintaining a record, a written response would be preferred.

If the complaint cannot be resolved within the three-day period, then the formal complaints procedure should be implemented.

4.2 Formal complaints handling procedure (complaints which cannot be resolved at the close of three business days)

If, on receiving a complaint, it is known that a complaint cannot be resolved to the customer’s satisfaction within three business days, the formal complaints handling procedure should be undertaken immediately. A final response letter should be completed within eight weeks, beginning on the date the complaint was received, after which the customer can refer their complaint to FOS. If the final response cannot be provided and the customer is informed of this, then the investigation may extend beyond this period, but this does not affect the customer’s right to go to FOS.

On receiving a complaint
After logging the complaint in the Artemis system within 24 hours of receipt, the customer must be sent an initial response letter on the firm’s headed paper, promptly and without delay upon receiving the complaint along with a copy of the ‘Complaints Information for our Customers’ document.

Where a complaint is initially dealt with informally, as soon as it becomes apparent that the issue will not be resolved within 3 business days, the formal complaints procedure must be implemented.

After four weeks
Throughout the investigation of the complaint the customer and PPL must be kept informed of its progress. If the complaint has not been resolved within four weeks, the customer should be sent a holding letter on the firm’s headed paper, which explains the delay and gives an indication of when the matter is expected to be resolved, although, this can be no longer than eight weeks after the complaint was received. Notes and all correspondence should be added to the Artemis system.

After eight weeks
Within eight weeks of receiving the complaint the customer must be sent either:
1) A final response letter stating:

• The complaint has been accepted and, where appropriate, redress or remedial action is offered; or
• The complaint has not been accepted but redress or remedial action is being offered; or
• The complaint has been rejected and the reasons for doing so.

2) A letter which explains that a final response cannot be provided at this time, the reasons why it cannot be and when one could be expected.

Furthermore, for eligible complainants, any response provided at the end of the eight-week period must:

• Inform the customer that, if they are dissatisfied with the response, they have the right to refer the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service, free of charge – but must do so within six months of the date of the letter;
• Include a copy of the FOS leaflet; and
• Include the website address for FOS (http://financial-ombudsman.org.uk/)

Where the customer submitted the complaint via email and all subsequent communication has been by email, rather than posting a FOS leaflet, the online version can be emailed. This version can be found at: http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/consumer-leaflet.htm. However, in these circumstances, the complaint must also be made aware that a hard-copy of the leaflet can be posted to them at their request.

The FOS leaflet, both the printed and online version, must be the original versions provided by FOS. Scans and photocopies are not permitted.

Notes and all correspondence should be added to the Artemis system.

Closing a complaint
A complaint will be considered to be closed when:

• A final response letter has been sent; or
• The customer indicates, in writing, that they accept the offer or response; or
• The customer does not respond to the final response four weeks from the date it was sent.

4.3 Complaints against third parties

Where the complaint relates wholly to a third party, the complaint will immediately be passed on to the relevant third party and the customer will be notified promptly of this.
Where responsibility for the complaint partially belongs to a third party, the third party will be notified of the complaint and the procedure detailed in this document shall be followed.

5. Investigation

Any investigation must be conducted in an impartial manner and, where possible, by someone who is not connected with the subject of the complaint. In most instances this should be the Complaints Officer. The investigative process will include a review of all pertinent documents and testimony of the staff involved. Additional information should be obtained where necessary.

The following should be considered within the course of the investigation:

• All the evidence and particular circumstances of the complaint;
• Similarities with any other complaints received;
• Any relevant guidance; and
• Any decisions by the Financial Ombudsman Service regarding similar complaints.

PPL will review the documentation that is uploaded into Artemis system and provide guidance relating to ensuring an appropriate and fair outcome for the complainant.

6. Redress

Where appropriate, the customer shall be offered fair and reasonable compensation which will be paid in a timely manner. What is fair and reasonable will vary from case to case and will be determined by the evidence and customer testimony. However, fair and reasonable redress could mean putting the customer back in the position they would have been in had the failing not occurred.

7. Record keeping

On receiving a complaint, the customer’s details and the following information should be recorded on the Artemis system:

• The name of the Complaints Officer;
• The complaints code; and
• The details of the complaint.

This will be reviewed and updated periodically, with:

• If the complaint is an informal complaint, the date the summary resolution communication was sent to the customer.
• If the complaint is a formal complaint, the date the initial response letter was sent to the customer;
• The date the holding letter was sent;
• The date the final response letter was sent to the customer and the outcome;
• Whether the complaint was reported to FOS and, if so, the outcome;
• The amount of redress offered; and
• The date the complaint was considered closed.

All correspondence with the customer shall be placed on the customer’s file on the Artemis system. This will ensure, should the complaint be escalated to FOS, all information regarding the complaint will be readily available. If the customer made a verbal complaint, the customer should be asked if they are willing to allow the person receiving the complaint to put it into writing based upon this communication. If the customer approves and a written description of the complaint is made, the customer must be sent a copy of this.

These records will be retained for a minimum of six years.

8. Reporting

All eligible complaints, regardless of whether or not they were resolved within the informal three-day period, will be logged in the Artemis system to allow accurate reports to be submitted annually to the FCA via the Regdata system.

9. Analysis

A root cause analysis will be conducted on every complaint and this will be recorded along with any action taken. PPL will liaise with the firm’s Approved Person or Managing Director for any changes which need to be made to the procedures or staff training.

PPL will review the complaints handling process and suggest improvements to staff knowledge and the complaint procedure on an annual basis.

10. Breach of this policy

Any breach of this policy must be brought to the attention of the Approved Person and to PPL without delay.

Any instances where it is found complaints have not been reported, or attempts have been made to cover up a customer complaint, may result in disciplinary proceedings being instigated against those individuals concerned.

11. Training

All staff will complete a course on complaints handling which will be refreshed annually.
All staff will be promptly notified of any changes to this procedure.

12. Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS)

We will co-operate fully with FOS in resolving any complaints and agree to be bound by any decisions and awards made by FOS. We undertake to pay promptly any redress levied by FOS.

The contact details for FOS are:

• • Email: complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org
  • Website: www.financial-ombudsman.org