A ‘customer complaint’ is any expression of dissatisfaction whether oral or written, and whether justified or not, about Investbx’s or The Share Centre’s services, or our failure to provide such a service.
If you wish to make a complaint, you should refer it immediately to the manager of the department concerned, e.g. Customer Services, Dealing, Advice Team etc. The department will then take the following steps:
- your complaint will be logged recording the date of receipt, your name and the nature of your complaint;
- your complaint will be acknowledged within 2 business days, confirming the name and job title of the individual handling your complaint and that an initial response will be sent to you within the following 10 business days; a copy of these complaint handling procedures will be enclosed;
- your complaint will be reviewed by a department member not directly involved with the subject of your complaint and discussed with appropriate members of relevant departments within the firm. They will consider the comments received and objectively assess whether your complaint is justified, or whether further investigation is required;
- the initial response will attempt to resolve your complaint at an early stage by offering redress where appropriate, or rejecting your complaint and providing the reasons for doing so; it will advise you how to pursue your complaint with The Share Centre if you remain dissatisfied with this response and explain that ultimately you can refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service should you remain dissatisfied with the firm’s final response.
- where you remain dissatisfied with the initial response, you can request for your complaint to be referred to the Compliance Team for review. The Compliance Team will undertake an independent review of your complaint, typically involving discussions with yourself, the department concerned, a review of the correspondence between you and the firm and any relevant brochureware or other such relevant literature.
- the Compliance Team will provide you with a written final response within 10 business days of your complaint being referred; the final response may include an offer of an ex gratia payment or similar benefit, if justified. In any case, you will be advised of your right to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service, within 6 months of the date of the final response; an explanatory leaflet on the Service will be enclosed;
- all details of the action taken will be updated on the Complaints Log, and all complaint records will be maintained for a minimum period of 3 years from the date of receipt of your complaint.
