Complaints Manager contact details

Name: Steve Barber 

Telephone: 0191 605 3555

E-mail: info@armstrongnationwide.com

Armstrong Nationwide Ltd. 17 Riverside Studios, Amethyst Road, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE4 7YL

Our Procedures

We aim to resolve your concerns within three working days of notification and without resorting to our formal complaints procedure.  As such your grievance will be investigated by specially trained members of our team and they will report back to you with their findings.  If you are happy with, and accept their explanation, your complaint will be closed, which we will confirm in writing.

If you are still unhappy, the complaint will be escalated and assigned to the Complaints Manager who will be your point of contact whilst the investigation is open.  We will send you a letter confirming their name and direct number so that you can speak with them directly about your complaint.

You may at some stage be asked to provide additional information in relation to your grievance to help us fully understand your individual case.

The Complaints Manager will investigate your complaint and endeavour to write back to you within four weeks with their findings.  If this timescale is not possible, the Manager will write to you again to let you know how things are progressing.  Their final response will follow as soon as they are satisfied they have all the relevant information and can make a considered and unbiased decision and no later than eight weeks from the date your complaint was originally received.

Adviser or Provider

Clients often express dissatisfaction to their adviser about the product provider. We will need to establish whether or not your complaint relates to the advice given, the adviser service or the service or performance of the product provider. If unclear, this must not delay investigation and we will proceed with our own investigation. The complaints manager will review this matter and take the complaint to the provider if appropriate in consultation with you.

Investigation

The complaints manager will establish the nature and scope of your complaint having due regards to the Financial Conduct Authority’s direction:

Deal with complaints promptly and fairly give complainants clear replies and, where appropriate, fair redress.

Eligible Complainants

It is the firm’s policy to treat all complainants the same, however, eligible complainants are legally defined and have additional rights in law that we must acknowledge and adhere to.

Eligible complainants are those who have a potential claim against a firm based whereby it believes he/she has suffered a financial loss due to poor advice or service that are: 

Private Individuals

Companies within the EU definition of a microenterprise

Charities with an income of under £1,000,000

Trustees of a trust with assets of under £1,000,000

The Financial Conduct Authority complaints rules apply to complaints:

made by, or on behalf of an eligible complainant;

relating to regulated activity;

involving an allegation that the complainant has suffered, or may suffer, financial loss, material distress or material inconvenience;

not resolved by close of business on the day following receipt.

Final response

This will set out clearly the firm’s decision and the reasons for it. If any compensation is offered a clear method of calculation will be shown. We must include details of the Financial Ombudsman Service in the final response if dealing with an eligible complainant and a regulated activity, we will:

explain that the complainant must refer the matter to the ombudsman within six months of the date of this letter or the right to use this service is lost

Analysis

A root cause analysis will be undertaken by the firm in the case of any complaint and this will be recorded with the appropriate action having been taken.

Closing a complaint

We will consider a compliant closed when we have made our final response to you.

Financial Ombudsman Service

The firm must co-operate fully with the Ombudsman in resolving any complaints made against it and agrees to be bound by any awards made by the Ombudsman. The firm undertakes to pay promptly the fees levied by the Ombudsman.

Contact:

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

Tel:  0800 023 4567 (free for most people ringing from a fixed line) or 0300 123 9123 (cheaper for those calling using a mobile) or +44 20 7964 0500 (if calling from abroad)

Email: complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org.uk

Website: http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk