Complaints Policy
Our Commitment to Resolving Complaints
We aim to treat our customers fairly at all times, especially when they feel they have cause for complaint. We take any complaint very seriously. Any complaint, whether made in writing or verbally, is immediately referred to a Complaints Officer. We also record any complaint we receive. Our Complaints Officers are responsible for ensuring that we thoroughly investigate any complaints.
As soon as a complaint is received:
All written complaints will be acknowledged by our Complaints Officer in writing within five business days of receipt. All verbal complaints will also be acknowledged by our Complaints Officer in writing within five business days of receipt. This acknowledgement letter will also contain our understanding of the complaint.
If the complaint can be resolved within five business days our acknowledgement letter will also outline the result of our investigation, unless the complaint can be resolved to your satisfaction by the end of three business days after receipt when we will provide you with a summary of the resolution of the complaint.
If our investigation is not resolved within five business days, our acknowledgement letter will confirm that we will:
- Investigate the complaint and aim to respond within four weeks of receiving the complaint
- Explain that, if we cannot complete the investigation within four weeks of receiving the complaint, we will write again giving the reason for the delay
- Explain that on completion of our investigation we will inform the complainant of the outcome and the options available to you.
If the complaint is about another party, such as a subcontractor or a credit lender, we will refer details of the complaint to the third party and confirm this course of action to the complainant in writing.
After we have investigated the complaint:
Upon completion of our investigation our Complaints Officer will write to the complainant notifying you of the outcome of our investigation.
We will set out the nature and terms of any settlement (if applicable). Any compensation we offer will be fair and reasonable and the basis of the calculation will be explained.
Our letter will also advise you that if you are not satisfied with the outcome you may refer the matter to the relevant Ombudsman Service and we will point out that such a referral should be made within the required timeframe or you may lose that right
Our letter will include the name, address, website address and telephone number of the relevant Ombudsman and a leaflet which explains the Ombudsman arrangements.
If we cannot resolve the complaint within four weeks:
If, for any reason, our investigation is not concluded within four weeks, our Complaints Officer will write to you again informing you that our investigation is continuing, giving the reasons for the delay and a date by which our Complaints Officer expects to contact you again.
If we cannot resolve the complaint within eight weeks:
While we would always aim to complete an investigation within eight weeks, if, for any reason, our investigation is not concluded within this period, our Complaints Officer will write to you again. We will inform you of the reasons for the further delay and we will advise you that if you are not satisfied with our progress you may refer the complaint to the relevant Ombudsman service.
This letter will explain that such a referral should be made within the required timeframe or you may lose that right. Our letter will include the name, address, telephone number and website address of the relevant Ombudsman and a leaflet which explains the Ombudsman arrangements