Courtiers Wealth Management
Courtiers Wealth Management

Complaints Handling

Introduction

Firms regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) are required to establish, implement and maintain an effective and transparent complaints management policy for the prompt handling of clients’ or potential clients’ complaints.

This page describes our process for handling complaints.

What is the definition of a complaint?

The FCA define a complaint as “any oral or written expression of dissatisfaction, whether justified or not, from, or on behalf of, a person about the provision of, or failure to provide, a financial service or a redress determination, which alleges that the complainant has suffered (or may suffer) financial loss, material distress or material inconvenience.”

Who may make a complaint?

Complaints may be made by “clients” or “potential clients”.

Anyone may make a complaint on your behalf, as long as you give written permission for them to do so.

Publicising the Complaint Management Process

a) We will publish details of the process that will be followed when handling a complaint, including information about our Complaint Management Policy. This information will be provided to clients or potential clients on request, or when acknowledging a complaint.

b) Contact details for the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), including its website address are included in the Client Agreement, on Courtiers’ website, and later in this document;

c) We will provide eligible complainants with information on the Financial Ombudsman Service when we provide our final response to a complaint.

Handling Complaints

  • Courtiers makes no charge for investigating and responding to complaints.
  • Complaints may be made in writing, by telephone, by email, or in person.
  • Complaints should be addressed to The Compliance Officer, Courtiers Investment Services Limited, 18 Hart Street, Henley on Thames, Oxfordshire. RG9 2AU. Telephone 01491 578368.
  • Any complaint expressed verbally will be dealt with as if it were a written one.
  • Complaints received by Courtiers will be passed to Courtiers’ compliance function, which will be responsible for implementing the Complaints Management Policy and for investigating and responding to the complaint.
  • Complainants will be sent a prompt written acknowledgement stating the name and job title of the individual handling the complaint, and enclosing a copy of Courtiers’ Complaint Management Policy. Courtiers’ target is to acknowledge a complaint within 5 days of its receipt. Thereafter complainants will be kept informed of progress in relation to the measures being taken to investigate and resolve the complaint.
  • The compliance function will ensure that complaints are handled competently, diligently and impartially.
  • We aim to assess all complaints fairly, consistently and promptly, and this will include a review of all relevant factors. The process may involve:
    • a) Gathering information including all evidence available and the particular circumstances of the complaint.
    • b) Assessing the evidence.
    • c) Decision making, including whether the complaint should be upheld, and what remedial action and/or redress may be appropriate.
    • d) In some circumstances we will consider whether there are reasonable grounds to be satisfied that another respondent should be solely or jointly responsible for the matter.
    • e) We will review relevant guidance published by the FCA, the FOS and other relevant regulators.
    • f) We may assess similarities with other complaints received, and undertake analysis of decisions by the FOS concerning similar complaints.
  • We will aim to provide our final written resolution within 8 weeks of receipt of the complaint. If it is not possible to complete investigations within 8 weeks, we will write to inform you of this and advise you of the reasons for the delay and details of the proposed timescale to be achieved.
  • In our written resolution of the complaint, we will advise the complainant of their options including that they may refer the complaint for Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) or commence civil action.
  • We will also inform the complainant that if they are not satisfied with our response, they may refer their complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service, and we will provide relevant contact details including the website address for the Financial Ombudsman Service. We will also enclose a copy of the Financial Ombudsman Service standard explanatory leaflet. We will confirm whether we consent to waiving the time limits to refer the complaint to the FOS.

Contact information for the Financial Ombudsman Service

The Financial Ombudsman Service
Exchange Tower
London
E14 9SR

www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk

complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org.uk

Tel: 0800 023 4 567

  • We will comply promptly with any offer of remedial action or redress accepted by the complainant
  • In all communications we will aim to communicate in plain language that is easy to understand.

Compliance Reviews and Reporting

The compliance function will be responsible for the analysis of complaints and complaint handling. This analysis will aim to identify and correct any failings in products or processes. As part of this process we will keep a record of the complaints received and the measures taken for their resolution.

The compliance function will report outcomes to senior management on any risks or issues identified, and this report will be made at least annually, and more frequently if required.

All complaints received by Courtiers Investment Services Limited will be reported to the FCA in accordance with regulatory requirements.

Courtiers’ senior management team is responsible for ensuring that its Complaints Management Policy is effective and transparent. It maintains oversight of the complaints management process and will take appropriate steps when any deficiencies are identified.