Complaints procedure
What can I expect to happen once I have lodged my complaint?
Once you have lodged your complaint against the FSA, our investigation will take the following course:
- As soon as possible after receiving correspondence from the complainant, we will determine whether the complaint can be entered into the Fast Track Scheme for a quick response.
- To qualify for Fast Track treatment, a complaint must:
- Not take more than five working days (from the day we receive it) for us to answer it fully; and
- Be low impact ie the complaint does not include allegations of a lack of integrity, bias or unprofessional behaviour on the part of the FSA.
- Concern only one business area of the FSA
- Within five working days of receipt, we will either:
- Answer Fast Tracked complaints with substantive responses from specialists in the FSA. We will also notify complainants of their rights to be referred to our Complaints Team in the Corporate Services Dept. to have their complaint considered as a Stage 1 investigation, enclosing our leaflet which explains how the Complaints Scheme works, if they remain dissatisfied with our substantive response; or
- We will acknowledge Non Fast Tracked complaints with a leaflet "Bringing a complaint against the FSA" explaining how the Complaints Scheme works – including details of the complainant's right to refer the complaint to the Complaints Commissioner if they are dissatisfied with the way the FSA has dealt with it.
- The rest of this time-frame is for the information of non Fast Tracked complaints only.
- Within 20 working days of receipt, we will write to all complainants to advise whether we have been able to investigate, make our substantive response if we are able to set out our analysis of each complaint that we have entered into the scheme, along with a reasonable time-frame for resolving the complaint.
- In order to make as accurate a response as possible, we may ask for further information and/or clarification in writing from complainants. We may not be able to progress our investigation of a complaint to completion until we receive this information.
- The Complaints Team will appoint a suitably senior member of staff who has not previously been involved in the matter relating to the complaint, carry out an impartial investigation into the matter and seek to resolve it to the complainant's satisfaction.
- We aim to resolve all complaints as soon as possible and will write to complainants regularly to keep them informed of the progress of their complaints.
What are the possible outcomes I can expect?
If we conclude that your complaint is well founded, we will tell you what we propose to do in order to remedy it. The remedies we might offer include:
- Offering the complainant an apology;
- Taking steps to rectify an error; or
- Offering a compensatory payment on an ex-gratia basis, where appropriate. This remedy is not available under the Transitional Complaints Scheme or under out Fast Track Scheme.
If we conclude that your complaint is not well founded, we will give you our reasons.
What happens if I am not happy with the outcome?
If you are dissatisfied with the progress of your complaint or the way we have dealt with it, you have the right to refer the complaint to the Complaints Commissioner – this should usually be made within three months of the date of the FSA's final decision at Stage 1. Any referral outside the three months time limit may, where there are adequate reasons for the delay, still be considered by the Complaints Commissioner.
Although the Complaints Commissioner will not normally review our decision unless you request it, you can complain to the Complaints Commissioner [Link: http://www.fscc.gov.uk/] directly He will then decide whether your complaint falls within the scope of the FSA Complaints Scheme, and, if so, whether he proposes to conduct an investigation.
What are the possible outcomes I can expect?
If we conclude that your complaint is well founded, we will tell you what we propose to do in order to remedy it. The remedies we might offer include:
- Offering the complainant an apology;
- Taking steps to rectify an error; or
- Offering a compensatory payment on an ex-gratia basis, where appropriate. This remedy is not available under the Transitional Complaints Scheme or under our Fast Track process.
If we conclude that your complaint is not well founded, we will give you our reasons.
What happens if I am not happy with the outcome?
If you are dissatisfied with the progress of your complaint or the way we have dealt with it, you have the right to refer the complaint to the Complaints Commissioner - this should usually be made within three months of the date of the FSA's final decision at Stage 1. Any referral outside the three months' time limit may, where there are adequate reasons for the delay, still be considered by the Complaints Commissioner.
Although the Complaints Commissioner will not normally review our decision unless you request it, you can complain to the Complaints Commissioner directly. He will then decide whether your complaint falls within the scope of the FSA Complaints Scheme, and, if so, whether he proposes to conduct an investigation.