Complaints

Complaints are inevitable in any fast-moving service industry and the efficient handling of any customer dissatisfaction is central to success in financial services. Meridian Finance is committed to working with reputable lenders and motor dealers to ensure that our products and services live up to the expectations of our clients. We believe that there are many benefits to having a clear and straightforward complaint handling process, which aims to:

. Ensure that we provide the level of service deserved by our customers
. Allow us to learn from our mistakes
. Preserve our reputation in the market-place and maintain customer loyalty

This document summarises our approach to complaints handling and is designed to give an outline of the process involved, our commitment to a fair and equitable resolution, and our obligations under the Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme (FSOS).

Definition of complaint  

Complaints can come in many different forms with varying degrees of seriousness. Whilst we acknowledge that any situation which prompts a customer to contact us to express dissatisfaction is important, for the purpose of this document and our obligations under the FSOS, we define a complaint as such where it includes one or more of the following:

• Breach of Rules or Guidance issued by any Regulatory Authority to which the Company is subject.
• Failure to comply with any legal obligation.
• Negligence leading to material loss, inconvenience or distress.
• Misrepresentation, bad faith or other malpractice

A complaint involving the above will be handled in accordance with our internal complaints handling procedures which govern the acknowledgement, investigation and response to complaints. This page is designed to provide a high level overview of those procedures.

Complaints handling procedures

Our Complaints Handling Procedures detail the stages through which a complaint will pass and lay down the turnaround standards that we work to. We are obliged, under the terms of the FSOS to ensure that complaints are resolved within 12 weeks of receipt and where this is not possible we must provide a reason and estimated completion date. Complaints which are not resolved within the 12 week timescale or which are not resolved to the satisfaction of the customer could be eligible for consideration by the FSOS and we are obliged to provide full details as part of our procedure.

The following provides an outline of how complaints will be handled:

We will provide written acknowledgement of complaints communicated to us by telephone, electronic mail or in written form.

Contact:
Dave Anderson
Meridian Finance, Suite D, Kirkton Business Centre, Kirk Lane, Livingston Village, Livingston EH54 7AY

Tel:  01506 400999
Fax: 01506 400994

e-mail: complaints@meridianfinance.co.uk

Acknowledgement  

The acknowledgement letter will contain details of our Complaints Policy and will be despatched within 5 working days of receipt of the complaint.

Report letter  

This will provide full details of our investigation into the complaint together with the nature and terms of any offer to be made in satisfaction of the complaint. The letter will hopefully provide a satisfactory outcome but if there are further queries or the offer of redress is not satisfactory then the matter should be referred back to the author. This letter will normally be sent within 2 weeks of receipt of the original complaint.

Further acknowledgement

This letter will acknowledge the receipt of further information or the rejection of the offer of redress and will be sent within 5 working days of receipt of the customer communication.

Final response 

This will summarise the outcome of all investigations and, where appropriate, include a final offer of redress. The letter will be clearly marked as the final response and will include details on the right of referral to the FSOS. The letter will be despatched within 4 weeks of the receipt of further information/rejection of offer of redress and within 8 weeks of receipt of the first communication on the complaint. Where this timescale cannot be achieved the customer will be informed of the reason for the delay within 8 weeks of the receipt of the original customer communication.

Timing and record keeping

Complaints will vary in their nature and complexity and the time taken to handle them will reflect this. Our basic standards for time taken to handle a complaint are set out below. In certain circumstances we may be unable to achieve these standards although we will always aim to keep you informed of progress and we will comply with the overall time limits defined by Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme.

• Complaints will be acknowledged within 5 working days of receipt.
• The result of our investigation will be communicated along with any appropriate offer of redress 2 weeks of receipt of the complaint.
• An overall time limit of 8 weeks from receipt of the complaint to the issue of a final response is required by our internal complaints handling standards. The Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme imposes a maximum timescale of 12 weeks and in certain circumstances, where the complaint is complex, it may be necessary for us to work to this deadline. Where it is not possible for us to achieve this timescale we are obliged to inform you of the reason and provide you with details of your right to refer the matter to the Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme

The Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme

The Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme is a dispute resolution mechanism. The Scheme only comes into operation after the complaints procedure operated by the financial services company has been completed and a "Final Response" letter issued (or after 12 weeks from the date when the complaint was submitted to the company).

The Scheme covers financial services and is able to consider complaints made by clients up to six years after the act or omission that led to the complaint (or up to 2 years from when the complainant should reasonably have been aware of the matter) with an overall starting date of 20 April 1999. Rulings made by the Scheme are binding on regulated companies.

The address of the Scheme is as follows:

Financial Ombudsman Service
South Quay Plaza
183 Marsh Wall
London
E14 9SR
Tel: 0845 080 1800

website:http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/default.htm
e-mail: enquiries@financial-ombudsman.org.uk

Further details on the Scheme are included in the booklet entitled "The Financial Services Ombudsman Scheme - An Explanatory Guide"

Meridian Finance monitoring of complaints

All departments within Meridian Finance are required to maintain detailed complaints handling procedures enabling the production of management information to allow us to learn from our mistakes. Departmental complaints handling is required to comply with this high level policy and performance is subject to periodic monitoring to ensure that we offer the highest level of service possible.