Our Complaints Process
Guardian Financial Services’ Complaints Procedure
At Guardian Financial Services, we constantly strive to provide a first-class service to all our clients. However, there may be times when we do not fully meet our clients' expectations. If this happens, we want you to let us know. Not only will this give us the opportunity to try to resolve the matter to your satisfaction, but it will also help us to continue to improve the service we provide.
The following procedure sets out how Guardian Financial Services will deal with your complaint.
Step 1
If we cannot deal with your complaint immediately, we will send you an acknowledgement letter within five working days. We will investigate the matter fully and where possible we will aim to reply to you within 10 working days of receiving the complaint with a full response.
It may be that your complaint to Guardian Financial Services should be directed to another firm. In this instance we will refer the matter to the relevant firm within five business days of establishing this to be the case. In addition, we will issue a response which will inform you of the referral and include the other firm’s contact details.
Step 2
Guardian Financial Services is covered by the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) therefore complaints we cannot settle may be referred to them. If your complaint falls within the jurisdiction of the FOS we will provide details of how to refer your complaint to them.
Throughout your complaint we will continue to keep you informed about how it is being progressed. In the unlikely event that your complaint has not been fully addressed within four weeks of receipt we will write to you to explain what has been done and, if possible, indicate when a final reply will be issued. If more than eight weeks have passed since you initially complained, you can take your complaint to the FOS provided that it falls within their jurisdiction.
If you decide to take your complaint to the FOS, you must do so within six months of the date of our final decision letter, as the FOS may not consider any complaint made after this time. Taking a complaint to the FOS will not affect your legal rights.
You can contact the Financial Ombudsman at the following address:
Financial Ombudsman Service
South Quay Plaza
183 Marsh Wall
London
E14 9SR
Tel: 0845 080 1800
E-mail: enquiries@financial-ombudsman.org.uk
