Internal Complaints Handling Procedure
The Society is a Member of the Financial Ombudsman Service’s scheme. Although the Society is committed to providing you with a first class service we recognise that there may be an occasion when you feel that we may not have done this and you wish to make a complaint. We will always try to resolve any complaint speedily and at the earliest possible stage. The person dealing with your complaint will be authorised by the Society to settle your complaint and will explain to you in plain language the Society’s position. The purpose of this leaflet is to set out our procedures if you make a complaint.
We will try to ensure that we resolve all our complaints by the close of business on the business day following receipt of the complaint.
If this is not possible then we will ensure that we send to you an acknowledgement of your complaint within two days of receiving it. This will set out the name of the person dealing with the complaint. Included with that letter will be a copy of this leaflet, which sets out our Internal Complaints Procedure.
If we have been able to resolve the complaint in two days we will send to you our Final Response.
If we have not been able to resolve your complaint within two days we will write to you within four weeks of receiving your complaint either with a Final Response or if we have not been able to do this within four weeks we will explain to you why we have not been able to achieve this and tell you when we expect to be able to provide you with our Final Response; this must be done within eight weeks from the time we receive your complaint.
By the end of eight weeks after receipt of your complaint we will send you our Final Response. If we have not been able to provide our Final Response in this time we will tell you our reasons for the further delay and indicate to you when we are able to do this. At this stage you can refer the complaint to the Financial Services Ombudsman if you are either dissatisfied with our Final Response or with the further delay. Details of the Financial Ombudsman Service’s scheme are shown below:
The Financial Ombudsman Service
South Quay Plaza
183 Marsh Wall
London
E14 9SR
Website: www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk
Phone: 0845 080 1800
When you receive the Final Response from us and if you are not satisfied then you must ensure that you refer the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service within 6 months from the date when the Final Response is sent to you by us.
If the Complaint was dealt with by a member of staff in one of our Branches we will tell you who you can refer the complaint to in our Head Office if you are still dissatisfied.
It is our aim to ensure that all complaints are dealt with speedily and at the earliest stage. If we have not been able to resolve any complaint by the following day our aim will be to resolve complaints within 10 working days.
