WHO do you complain to? If things go wrong..
This is intended as a sort of self-measurement chart to try to pilot a way through the huge number of possible claim/ complaint routes which apply to Financial Services generally. It is a working document - we had rather assumed that the many other agencies who have been active in this field for several years would already have worked out a way of pointing enquirers to the proper authorities to deal with problems,. but this seems not to be the case. A few such bodies have already asked for a copy of our chart when it is finished.
What follows is an early draft. It is only rough, CANNOT be exhaustive - there are already changes in progress to the regulation of financial services - and does not replace individual professional advice on specific problems. If in doubt get help - or contact us.
- Why did you buy?
( ) Personal need/use
( ) Commercial need/use
- WHO did you buy from?
( ) Direct from Insurer - by letter or telephone
( ) Institution - Bank or Building Society
( ) Professional - Solicitor or Accountant
( ) Intermediary - Broker / Agent / Consultant
( ) 'Off the Page' - through advertising
- HOW did you pay?
( ) Cash/ Cheque
( ) Credit Card
( ) Direct Debit / Standing Order
- WHAT was the product?
( ) 'Financial Service' - endowment/ life/ pensions
( ) General Insurance - house / motor / accident
- WHERE is the problem?
( ) Insurer
( ) Agent
( ) Service
( ) Claims
( ) Premium payments
SOME comments on possible complaints..
- If you ticked 'Commercial' you are pretty much on your own to find and fund any help which may be required. We are not currently aware that any of the ombudsman schemes deal with commercial problems. See below and get advice or talk to us for more specific information.
- Who you bought from is important to establish which (or how many) companies you may be pursuing. Insurers have their own voluntary schemes which control some sales agents, and agents can belong to a variety of professional bodies, or may be required to register with a statutory body like IBRC for brokers, or OFT for credit providers.
If you have a problem take it up first with the agency you dealt with direct; then anyone behind that first level until you get to the insurer. Ask at every stage to which professional body the firm(s) belong, and use any appropriate complaints procedure(s) if you are unable to obtain a reasonable response to your enquiry.
Don't forget to contact everyone in the selling chain, including any paper or magazine which carried advertising. If misleading, this may be something to report to Advertising or Trading Standards.
- How you pay may bring in other protections - your credit card provider may have to get involved if you paid with the card; APACS and BACS control cheques and Direct Debit systems if a problem arose there.
- What the product was (and sometimes where you bought it) will determine which of several agencies deals with complaints. There will be changes in Financial Services regulation which may affect who to contact - see our list of organisations.
- Where the problem arises is also important - claims settlements forinstance may be dealt with by loss adjusters rather than the insurer, who have their own professional standards. Service is an area which may be worth investigating - as well as existing general protections against discrimination, there are new regulations under the Disability Discrimination Act which cover customers as well as employees of companies.
Later versions of this chart will (we hope) link the information above more directly to routes of complaint. Since changes are expected, and we are still collecting information about the current remit of most organisations, expect that detail on this site as soon as possible, but probably later this year.
As a final observation - if you are missing money for any reason, and no-one seems to know or care where it has gone, consider notifying the police. You should also keep your local Trading Standards department aware of any problems you encounter.
Wherever possible, please NOTIFY US of problems - we are accumulating information which will help identify areas of the financial services market which cause specific problems. We hope to be able to extend our Banking Charter to include all financial services in due course. The basic principles of efficiency and fair dealing should be standard throughout the market.
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