Complaints Policy
Introduction
LVC Central Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) in the United Kingdom number: 718938. We are required to have in place clear and effective procedures for the reasonable and prompt handling of complaints.
All of our clients are important to us, and we believe you have the right to a fair, swift and courteous service at all times. This document sets out the complaints handling procedures that we will follow in the event that you make a complaint.
How Can You Make a Complaint?
You can make a complaint by any reasonable means – for example, letter, email, telephone or in person. Written complaints can be sent to LVC Central Ltd, 2 Cosgrove Road, Old Stratford, Milton Keynes MK19 6AF. Telephone complaints can be made to 01908 262662.
What Will We Do Once We Have Received Your Complaint?
Your complaint will be referred to a director, as soon as possible.
We will promptly acknowledge your complaint in writing. In this acknowledgement, we will provide the name and title of the person that is handling your complaint. This individual will have the authority necessary to investigate and settle the complaint. We will also include a copy of this policy
The FCA defines a complaint as an expression of dissatisfaction (oral or written) about the provision of, or failure to provide, a financial service. It alleges how a customer has suffered (or may suffer): financial loss; material distress; or. material inconvenience.
There are certain key elements to satisfy before a complaint falls within the scope of the FCA
rules, in particular:
1. There must be some sort of expression of dissatisfaction, however you do not need to
specifically state that you are making a complaint and
2. The dissatisfaction must relate to the provision of or failure to provide a financial service ie it must relate to activities for which the firm is regulated by the FCA. This will primarily be credit broking though firms may also have other FCA permissions. Complaints about matters which are not regulated by the FCA, such as the sourcing and delivery of the vehicle or the provision of fleet management services, will not generally fall within the scope of DISP; and
3. You must allege either:
a. That you have suffered a financial loss of any amount; or
b. That you have suffered “material” distress; or
c. That you have suffered “material” inconvenience
“Material” is not defined for this purpose so, in the absence of any alleged financial loss, firms need to take a view based on the circumstances of the case as to whether any alleged distress or inconvenience is “material”.
Unless you meet all three of the requirements above it does not fall within the scope of DISP.
There are grey areas. For example, the following complaints are generally unlikely to fall within the scope of the FCA rules for a lease broking firm as they do not relate to FCA regulated activities (although some might do so against the funder):
• A complaint about a delay in the delivery of a vehicle.
• A complaint that a vehicle is dirty on delivery or that there is some defect.
• A complaint about the quantum of repair costs at end of contract.
However, this can depend on how the complaint is positioned. For example, if you allege that you would not have entered into the transaction, and thus would not have entered into the lease agreement, if you had known that the delivery might be delayed then this could bring the complaint within the scope of DISP.
The following types of complaints are likely to fall within the scope of DISP if the customer also alleges that you have suffered a financial loss, material distress or material inconvenience:
• Complaints about excess mileage charges.
• Complaints about delays in provision of finance quotes or documents.
• Complaints about the failure to include maintenance within the finance agreement.
• Complaints about the failure to provide finance.
• Complaints that deals advertised on a firm’s website are no longer available. If in any case you are unsure whether or not a complaint falls within the scope of DISP it is recommended that you treat it as regulated
How to handle regulated complaints
If a complaint falls within the scope of the FCA rules then it must be handled in accordance with the procedures in DISP and the firm must also take account of the additional requirements in the BVRLA Code. These procedures can be summarised as follows:
1. The complaint must be acknowledged promptly and in writing. This can include by email where the complainant has chosen to communicate by this method. The BVRLA Code states that the acknowledgement must be issued within 5 working days. Along with the acknowledgement the firm must send a copy of your written complaints handling procedures.
2. The complaint must be fully and impartially investigated taking into account all available evidence, including other complaints of a similar nature and any relevant guidance or publications issued either by the FCA or the Financial Ombudsman. Whilst firms can offer ex gratia payments to settle complaints these cannot be offered as a substitute for a full investigation or for full redress if a complaint is upheld.
3. The BVRLA Code states that firms should aim to resolve disputes within 30 days. If disputes cannot be resolved then complainants must be advised of the availability of the BVRLA Conciliation Service.
4. Under the FCA DISP rules a firm must issue a Final Response within 8 weeks – see below.
The final response (including dissatisfied customers & unresolved cases)
Complaints must be resolved at the earliest opportunity and firms have a maximum of 8 weeks under the FCA rules to send a final response to you. There are detailed requirements for the final response which are summarised as follows:
1. The final response must be in writing though this can be by email where the complainant has accepted this as a means of communication
2. The final response should summarise the outcome of the investigations
3. The final response must either:
a. Accept the complaint and, where appropriate, offer redress or remedial action; or
b. Offer redress or remedial action without accepting the complaint (ie an ex gratia settlement); or
c. Reject the complaint and explain the reasons for doing so; or
d. If the firm has not been able to conclude its investigations, explain why not and when it expects to do so.
4. The response must advise the complainant that if they remain dissatisfied (or if the investigation has not been completed) they may now refer their complaint to either;
a. BVRLA conciliation service (who provide an alternative dispute resolution service to members and their customers. Further information is available via the BVRLA Leasing Broker Code of Conduct; or
b. Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS); Provide customer with details of the FOS website address and enclose a copy of the Ombudsman leaflet “Your Complaint and the Ombudsman”; and The written response must include the appropriate standard wording from DISP 1 Annex 3R.
In most cases the relevant wording will be:
“You have the right to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service, free of
charge – but you must do so within six months of the date of this letter. If you do not refer
your complaint in time, the Ombudsman will not have our permission, to consider your
complaint and so will only be able to do so in very limited circumstances.
Complaints resolved within 3 working days
If a complaint is resolved to the satisfaction of the complainant by the close of the third business day after receipt firms may, if they wish, follow an alternative process provided the complainant has verbally indicated their acceptance of the response from the firm. As an alternative to issuing a formal acknowledgement and a final response firms may issue a “Summary Resolution Communication”.
This is a written communication which:
1. Refers to the fact that the complainant has made a complaint and that the firm now considers this complaint resolved
2. Tells the complainant that if they subsequently decide that they are not satisfied they may be able to refer their complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS); and
3. Includes the appropriate wording from DISP 1 Annex 3R (see above); and
4. Provides the FOS website address and advises the complainant of the availability of further information on their website.
We will apply this policy to all of our customers or potential customers. Customers can make a complaint by any reasonable means – for example, letter, email, telephone or in person.
The complaint must be referred to a director, as soon as possible. We must promptly acknowledge the complaint in writing. In this acknowledgement we will provide the name and title of the director handling the complaint. This individual will have the authority necessary to investigate and settle the complaint. We will also include a copy of the customer version of our complaints policy.
We must investigate the complaint fairly, consistently and promptly, determine whether the complaint should be upheld, and (if appropriate) determine remedial action and / or redress. We will set out our conclusions in a final response to the customer.
If we decide that redress is appropriate, we will aim to provide fair compensation for any acts or omissions for which we are responsible. If the customer accepts our offer, we will promptly provide the compensation
Response Timetable
Once we have acknowledged the complaint, we will keep the customer informed of our progress. Within eight weeks of us receiving a complaint we will send either a final response or a written response which:
• explains why we are not in a position to make a final response and when we might be expected to provide one
• informs the customer whether he/she is now entitled to refer the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (“FOS”) or our trade body, the BVRLA.
The BVRLA
Approved by Government as a Consumer ADR body under the Alternative Dispute Resolution for Consumer Disputes (Competent Authorities and Information) Regulations 2015.
Unresolved disputes may be referred to the BVRLA by the customer. We are bound to accept their decision. Details should be submitted by email to: complaint@bvrla.co.uk. If the customer does not have access to email, details can be sent by post to:
BVRLA River Lodge, Badminton Court, Amersham, HP7 0DD
FINANCIAL OMBUDSMAN SERVICE (“FOS”)
Inform an eligible complainant they are able to refer a complaint to the FOS if not satisfied with the outcome of the complaint.
Closing Complaints
The firm will regard a complaint as closed in the following circumstances:
• once they have sent a final response; or
• where you have told us in writing that you accept an earlier response that we have sent to; or
• if you refer your complaint to FOS, when FOS informs us in writing that the complaint has been closed.
Questions
If you have any questions about our complaints process, please contact us at 01908 262662, we are always happy to assist.
LVC Central Ltd is a credit broker not a lender and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority -Reference number: 718938. We may receive a commission payment from the finance provider, one of our selected panel of funders. Terms and conditions are available on request. webcars is a trading styles of LVC Central Ltd. Registered in England Number 3102865. Registered Office: 2 Cosgrove Road, Old Stratford, Milton Keynes MK19 6AF. BVRLA membership number: 2126