Complaints procedure

You can complain in whichever way suits you. You do not need to use the word "complaint" and you do not need to put it in writing, although it can help.

Telephone

Telephone number to be confirmed, Monday to Friday, 8am–8pm (UK time), excluding bank holidays.

Email

info@fchl.co.uk

Post

Complaints, Financial Claims Helpline Limited, Victoria House, 37 Anson Road, Manchester, M14 5DA

It helps if you tell us your name and contact details, what went wrong and when, any reference number you have, and what you would like us to do to put it right. If you would prefer someone else to complain for you, such as a family member, friend or adviser, we will need your permission to deal with them.

If you need us to communicate with you in a particular way, for example in large print or by phone rather than in writing, tell us and we will do so.

1. We acknowledge your complaint

   We will confirm in writing that we have received your complaint, normally within five business days. We will tell you who is dealing with it and how to contact them.

2. We investigate

   Your complaint will be looked at by someone with the authority to settle it and, wherever possible, someone who was not involved in the matter you are complaining about. We will review our records, including call recordings, and may ask you for more information.

3. We keep you informed

   If we can resolve your complaint to your satisfaction within three business days of receiving it, we will send you a short written summary confirming that, and telling you how to contact the Financial Ombudsman Service if you later change your mind.

4. We send you our final response

   In all other cases we will send you a final response within eight weeks of receiving your complaint. It will set out what we found, our decision and the reasons for it, anything we will do to put things right, and your right to refer the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

5. If we cannot finish within eight weeks

   We will write to explain why, tell you when we expect to respond, and confirm that you can refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service straight away if you do not want to wait.

Where a complaint relates to the law firm's handling of your claim rather than to us, we will tell you promptly, forward the complaint to the law firm with your consent, and explain how to complain to the law firm directly.

If you are not satisfied with our final response, or eight weeks have passed without one, you can refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Complaints about claims management companies are dealt with by the Claims Management Ombudsman, which is part of the Financial Ombudsman Service. The service is free, independent and impartial, and you do not need a lawyer to use it.

You normally need to contact the ombudsman within six months of the date of our final response. We will include the ombudsman's details and a link to its consumer leaflet with our final response.

Website

www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk

Telephone

0800 023 4567 (free from UK landlines and mobiles) or 0300 123 9123

Email

complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org.uk

Post

Financial Ombudsman Service, Exchange Tower, London, E14 9SR

If your complaint is about the law firm we introduced you to, for example about the legal advice you received, its fees or how your claim was run, you should complain to the law firm first, using the complaints procedure in its client care letter. Our panel law firm, Locksley Law Solicitors (a trading style of RH Law Ltd, SRA number 659355), has its own procedure and is regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

If you are not satisfied with the law firm's final response, or it has not resolved your complaint within eight weeks, you can contact the Legal Ombudsman, which is free to use. Time limits apply: normally within six months of the law firm's final response, and within one year of the problem happening or of you becoming aware of it.

Website

www.legalombudsman.org.uk

Telephone

0300 555 0333

Email

enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk

Post

Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6167, Slough, SL1 0EH

Concerns about a solicitor's conduct can also be raised with the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

If you are unhappy with how we have used your personal information, please contact us first so that we can put things right. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office.

Website

ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint

Telephone

0303 123 1113

Post

Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF

If you have received a call, text or email from us that you did not want, tell us and we will stop contacting you and add you to our suppression list. We will also tell you where we obtained your details. If you believe we, or a company marketing on our behalf, have broken the rules on marketing, you can complain to us under this procedure and to the Information Commissioner's Office. You can register your telephone numbers free of charge with the Telephone Preference Service.

We keep a record of every complaint and how it was resolved for at least three years. We look for the root cause of each complaint, put right any wider problem we find, and report information about the complaints we receive to the Financial Conduct Authority as its rules require. Complaints are reviewed by senior management so that the same thing does not go wrong again.