Introduction
We want to hear about your experience. It’s important to Ashford Borough Citizens Advice to know if we have done something wrong, so we can do our best to put it right.
Our staff also want to hear if we have provided a higher than expected service all compliments and comments will be passed to individuals and the team concerned. Please email contact@ashfordadvice.org
Ashford Borough Citizens Advice has a complaints handling procedure. Please email contact@ashfordadvice.org to request a copy of the complaints leaflet to be either posted or emailed to you.’
Before submitting a formal complaint we would advise initially raising any issues directly with person you have been dealing with or their immediate manager. Most problems can be resolved this way.
Stages following a formal complaint
Ashford Borough Citizens Advice stage
The first aim of this stage is to acknowledge your complaint and explain how it will be dealt with. All complaints will be acknowledged within 5 working days of receipt. An acknowledgement will include:
- Confirmation that the complaint has been received.
- Brief description of how the complaint will be handled including role / name of the person responsible and the timescale for a full response.
- Information about the full complaints procedure, including that if it is a complaint about immigration casework, and how you can take the complaint to OISC at any stage.
The second aim of this stage is to investigate what went wrong, and provide a full response to you (the complainant) within 8 weeks.
The investigation will:
- Be impartial. Each complaint will be approached with an open mind, and the facts and contentions in support of a complaint will be weighed objectively.
- Be confidential. A complaint will be investigated in private and care will be taken when disclosing to others any identifying details of a complaint.
- Be transparent. You will be told about the steps in the complaint process and be given an opportunity to comment on any information that may be evidence against your complaint.
The investigation into the complaint may be delegated, but not to anyone implicated or involved in the issue.
After the investigation we will send a response to you (the complainant).
Independent adjudicator review stage
The final stage in Ashford Borough Citizens Advice complaints process is a review conducted by an adjudicator who has no connection with Ashford Borough Citizens Advice service other than this particular role. Ashford Borough Citizens Advice will be advised that an independent adjudicator review has begun. The independent adjudicator, once informed, will conduct a review of the investigation.
You can find out how to ask for a review by an independent adjudicator in the review outcome letter – you should ask within 4 weeks of getting the review outcome. Requests submitted outside of this period will be considered if there are extenuating circumstances.
If you ask for a review by an independent adjudicator, explain which parts of the first review you’re not happy with.
The adjudicator may contact you and / or Ashford Borough Citizens Advice during this review, for further information. This review will only address whether the investigation so far has been conducted in line with stated procedures and whether it has been handled fairly. The adjudicator will not comment on the substance of the complaint.
If the adjudicator finds that the stated procedure was not followed or that the matter has not been handled fairly, they will specify why and may give directions for a re-investigation.
Ashford Borough Citizens Advice will send the full report of the independent adjudicator to you (the complainant) and the chair of the trustee board. The decision of the independent adjudicator is final in most cases, although discussion may continue with you and Ashford Borough Citizens Advice as to how exactly any recommendations might be implemented.
Ashford Borough Citizens Advice advises complainants who wish to escalate their complaint to the adjudicator that the independent adjudicator review stage does not have a fixed deadline, unlike the earlier stages.
Complaints about Debt Advice
Complaints about debt advice, or about obtaining information about someone’s credit record or helping them change their credit record are eligible to be sent to the Financial Ombudsman Service within 6 months of Ashford Borough Citizens Advice final response being sent to the complainant.
Complaints about Ashford Borough Citizens Advice debt intermediaries dealing with Debt Relief Orders can be submitted to Advice(UK)
Complaints to Advice(UK) about Debt Relief Order Intermediary
In the event that your complaint is about a DRO Intermediary acting for Ashford Borough Citizens Advice
You (the complainant) have the right to have your complaint and the decision about the complaint referred initially to AdviceUK in its capacity as a Competent Authority and ultimately to the Secretary of State. The final decision will explain how to do this.
If you (the complainant) decide to refer your complaint to AdviceUK, you must do so in writing. The referral will be dealt with by AdviceUK’s Head of Membership and Services.
A letter acknowledging the complaint will be sent out within seven working days and will give details of the procedure to be followed.
The Head of Membership and Services will make a decision regarding the extent to which, if any, the complaint can be dealt with by AdviceUK. You (the complainant) will be notified within one month of those aspects of the complaint that AdviceUK will investigate and those aspects that cannot be
dealt with by AdviceUK.
AdviceUK will deal with the following type of complaints: –
- If the Intermediary approved by AdviceUK fails to comply with any
- statutory duty in relation to the making of a Debt Relief Order application
- Where the client alleges that the Intermediary is responsible for a potentially material error on the completion of the Debt Relief Order application which has resulted in, or is likely to result in, detriment to the complainant
AdviceUK will not deal with complaints about the service or advice that the complainant has received from the Intermediary. Ashford Borough Citizens Advice complaints procedure should be used for dealing with complaints of this type.
AdviceUK can: –
- Consider whether the complaint is one which it can deal with
- Review the Debt Relief Order application in question
- Share the results of this review with the complainant and the Intermediary
- Use the review to assist in ongoing assessments of the Intermediary’s competence
- Suspend or withdraw its approval of the Intermediary if it considers this to be appropriate
AdviceUK cannot: –
- Overrule or change the content of a Debt Relief Order application
- Overrule or change the outcome of a Debt Relief Order
- Interfere with the complaints procedure of any other agency
Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS)
The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) usually settles complaints based on the paperwork that you (the complainant) and Ashford Borough Citizens Advice send them. For information on sending documents securely see information assurance guidance.
Generally, FOS will first try to settle a dispute informally through mediation or conciliation. They may contact you and/or Ashford Borough Citizens Advice to clarify the facts and issues involved or to suggest a way forward.
If it is not possible to resolve the matter over the phone, FOS will confirm their position in writing. This will give the FOS adjudicator’s opinion of the case and set out how, in the adjudicator’s view, the case should be resolved.
The adjudicator may issue a formal ‘adjudication’ report, which is sent to both parties at the same time. Ashford Borough Citizens Advice and you (the complainant) will both be given the opportunity to respond.
If matters remain unresolved, either party may ask for a review and final decision made by an ombudsman.
Where an ombudsman becomes directly involved in a case, they will review the complaint before making a final decision. If you (the complainant) accepts an ombudsman’s decision within the specified time limit, Ashford Borough Citizens Advice and you (the complainant) are bound by the decision. Otherwise, Ashford Borough Citizens Advice office is not bound, but you (the complainant) remain free to take proceedings further if you wish to.
A final decision by an ombudsman is the end of the complaints handling process. Neither Ashford Borough Citizens Advice nor the complainant can appeal against the decision.
What can FOS direct Ashford Borough Citizens Advice to do?
The Financial Ombudsman Service can order Ashford Borough Citizens advice to pay an amount for financial loss and / or pain and suffering, damage to reputation, and distress and inconvenience.
The maximum ‘award’ the ombudsman can instruct you to pay is £150,000. However, it is important to remember that FOS also deals with fee-charging and large institutions and this maximum award should be seen in that context. FOS has told Ashford Borough Citizens Advice that it is extremely unlikely to instruct Ashford Borough Citizens Advice service to pay large amounts to complainants. Where the degree of distress, inconvenience or other non-financial loss is enough to mean compensation should be paid, the amount is likely to be modest. Most compensation is for less than £300 and in only a small number of exceptional cases does the compensation exceed £1,000.
It is much more likely that the ombudsman would direct Ashford Borough Citizens Advice service to take other appropriate action, such as to apologise or to correct records.
The Financial Ombudsman Service can also award costs, but this happens very rarely.
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