How to complain

1. Raise a complaint with us first

If something has gone wrong, please tell us. Most issues can be sorted quickly once we know about them. You can complain in any of these ways:

It helps if you tell us:

• Your name and the best way to reach you.
• A brief description of what happened and when.
• Any reference numbers you have (an application number, our contact's name).
• What you'd like us to do to put it right.

2. What happens next

We follow the Financial Conduct Authority's complaint-handling rules (the DISP rules in the FCA Handbook):

• Within 3 business days — we aim to resolve straightforward complaints and send you a written summary of our response.
• Where more investigation is needed — we send you a written acknowledgement promptly and keep you updated on progress.
• Within 8 weeks — we send you our final response. If we can't reach a final response inside 8 weeks, we'll write to you to explain why and tell you when we expect to reply, and confirm your right to refer the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service at that point.

3. Referring your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service

You may be able to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) — a free, independent service for resolving disputes between customers and financial firms — if:

• You've received our final response and you're not satisfied with it, and it's within 6 months of the date of our final response letter; or
• It's been more than 8 weeks since you first complained and we haven't sent you a final response.

The Financial Ombudsman Service can only look at complaints from consumers, micro-enterprises and certain small businesses and charities — the eligibility rules are set out on their website.

4. Regulated and unregulated business

We conduct both regulated and unregulated business. Not all products arranged through us are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, so not every complaint can be referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Where a complaint relates to unregulated commercial finance, we still investigate it under this policy, but the right to escalate to the FOS may not apply. If in doubt, ask us and we'll tell you.

5. Records

We record every complaint we receive, our investigation and our response. We keep these records for at least 5 years (or longer where a specific rule requires) so we can meet our regulatory obligations and learn from feedback.

6. Fees

It doesn't cost you anything to complain to us, to Fiducia or to the Financial Ombudsman Service.