Complaints Policy

INTRODUCTION

Loanitt is committed to dealing effectively with any complaints you may have about our service. If we got something wrong, we will apologise and where possible we will try to put things right. We also aim to learn from our mistakes and use the information we gain to improve our services.

WHEN TO USE THIS POLICY

When you complain to us, we will usually respond in the way we explain below. Sometimes, you might be concerned about matters that are not decided by us (such as the refusal by a lender to offer finance) and we will then advise you about how to make your concerns known.

A complaint is any oral or written expression of dissatisfaction, whether justified or not, from or on your behalf, about the provision of, or failure to provide, a financial service which:
(a) alleges that you as the complainant has suffered (or may suffer) financial loss, material distress or material inconvenience; and

(b) relates to an activity of Loanitt, or of any other relevant financial service provider with whom Loanitt has some connection in marketing or providing financial services or products, which comes under the jurisdiction of the Financial Ombudsman Service.

INFORMAL RESOLUTION

If possible, we believe it is best to deal with things as soon as possible and in the easiest and most direct way. If you have a complaint, please email our team at complaint@loanitt.co.uk. A member of our team will respond to your complaint promptly in writing providing early reassurance that we have received your complaint and are dealing with it and will ensure that you are kept informed of the progress of your complaint. The firm will attempt to resolve an informal complaint by the end of business on the third business day following receipt of the complaint. After resolving an informal complaint by close of business on the third business day following receipt, the firm will send you a ‘summary resolution communication’. This will tell you how you can escalate your complaint internally and will include details of the Financial Ombudsman Service. Where a complaint cannot be resolved informally, within the timescale mentioned, the firm’s standard escalation procedures will apply as set out in the section ‘how to complain formally’.

If the member of our team can’t resolve your complaint themselves, they will explain why and will arrange for your complaint to be formally investigated.

HOW TO COMPLAIN FORMALLY

You can make an official complaint in any of the ways below:

You can write a letter to us at the following address Tom Enright, Head of Compliance,
Loanitt UK Limited, Arthur House, 41 Arthur Street, Belfast, BT1 4GB.
You can email your complaint to complaint@loanitt.co.uk
You can phone us on 028 9344 7285.

WHAT SHOULD YOU INCLUDE IN YOUR COMPLAINT?

Remember to state your name, address, telephone number and email and whether you are acting on behalf of someone else. If you are acting on behalf of someone else, we will need their agreement in writing to you acting on their behalf.
Describe what your complaint is about stating relevant dates and times, if applicable.
List your specific concerns starting with the most important concern.
Be clear about what you are hoping to achieve (for example an apology, explanation, etc.)
State your preferred method of communication. It will assist the Complaints Officer if extra
information and/or copies of relevant documents are attached to your complaint.

DEALING WITH YOUR COMPLAINT

We will formally acknowledge your complaint promptly in writing providing early reassurance that we have received your complaint and are dealing with it and will ensure that you are kept informed of the progress of your complaint and how we intend to deal with it. We will ask you to tell us how you would like us to communicate with you and establish whether you have any requirements for example, if you have language difficulties. We will deal with your complaint in an open and honest way and will investigate your complaint competently, diligently and impartially, obtaining additional information as necessary. We will make sure that your interactions with us in the future do not suffer just because you have made a complaint. If you are making a complaint on behalf of somebody else, we will need their agreement to you acting on their behalf.

INVESTIGATION

We will tell you who we have asked to investigate your complaint. We will aim to resolve concerns as quickly as possible. If your complaint is more complex, we will:

let you know within this time why we think it may take longer to investigate.
tell you how long we expect it to take.

The person who is investigating your concerns will aim first to establish the facts. The extent of this investigation will depend on how complex and how serious the issues you have raised are. In complex cases, we will draw up an investigation plan. In some instances, we may ask to meet you to discuss your complaint. Occasionally, we might suggest mediation or another method to try to resolve disputes. When investigating your complaint, we will look at relevant evidence. This could include files, notes of conversations, letters, emails or whatever may be relevant to your complaint. While we will always try and resolve your complaint as quickly as possible, in general, we will try and resolve your complaint within 8 weeks. We will contact you regularly until your complaint has been resolved. We will assess fairly, consistently and promptly, the subject matter of your complaint, whether the complaint should be upheld and what action or redress (or both) may be appropriate, depending on the outcome of the investigation.

OUTCOME

When we conclude our formal investigation of your complaint, we will let you know what we have found in keeping with your preferred form of communication. If necessary, we will produce a longer report. We will explain how and why we came to our conclusions. If we find that we got it wrong, we will tell you what and why it happened. If we find there is a fault in our systems or the way we do things, we will tell you what it is and how we plan to change things to stop it happening again. If we got it wrong, we will always apologise.

Once a complaint has been received by the firm and has been investigated competently, diligently and impartially, obtaining additional information as necessary and having taken into account all relevant factors, the firm will:

offer redress or remedial action when the firm decides this is appropriate;
explain to you promptly and, in a way that is fair, clear and not misleading, of the firm’s assessment of the complaint, its decision on it, and any offer of remedial action or redress; and
comply promptly with any offer of remedial action or redress accepted by you, the complainant.

Summary resolution communication – Complaints resolved by close of the third business day
Where we consider a complaint to be resolved by the close of business on the third business day following the day on which it was received, we will promptly send you a ‘summary resolution communication’, which:

(1) refers to the fact that you made a complaint and informs you that we now consider the complaint to have been resolved;
(2) tells you that if you subsequently decide that you are dissatisfied with the resolution of the complaint, that you may be able to refer the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service; (3) indicates whether or not we consent to waive the relevant time limits in connection with the Financial Ombudsman Service;
(4) provides the website address of the Financial Ombudsman Service; and
(5) refers to the availability of further information on the website of the Financial Ombudsman Service.

A complaint is considered resolved where you have indicated acceptance of a response from Loanitt and both the response from Loanitt and acceptance in this instance can be over the phone or in writing.

When sending you a summary resolution communication with the information as set out above, Loanitt may also use other methods to communicate the information where we consider that doing so may better meet your needs or where you and Loanitt have already been using another method to communicate about the complaint. An example of this may be where Loanitt is aware that a complainant is visually impaired and we have been communicating with the complainant about a complaint by telephone.

FINAL OR OTHER RESPONSE WITHIN EIGHT WEEKS

Loanitt will, by the end of eight weeks after receipt of your complaint, send you a ‘final response’, which is a written response from the firm which:
(a) accepts the complaint and, where appropriate, offers redress or remedial action; or
(b) offers redress or remedial action without accepting the complaint; or

The ‘final response’ will:
(d) provide the website address of the Financial Ombudsman Service;
(e) inform you that if you remain dissatisfied with the firm’s response, you may now refer the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service; and
(f) indicate whether Loanitt have consented to waive certain time limits in relation to the complaint.

Alternatively, if after eight weeks the firm is not in a position to issue a ‘final response’, as set out above, the firm will send you a written response which:
(a) explains why Loanitt is not in a position to send you a final response and indicate when Loanitt expects to be able to provide one;

(b) informs you that you may now refer the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service;
(c) encloses a virtual copy of the Financial Ombudsman Service standard explanatory leaflet (a printed copy can also be provided); and
(d) provides the website address of the Financial Ombudsman Service.

The Financial Ombudsman Service is a free, independent service for settling disputes between financial services firms and their customers. They will ask the firm to explain what it thinks happened and then decide whether to uphold your complaint. It is important you contact the Financial Ombudsman Service within 6 months of receiving a final response from the firm, or it may not be able to deal with your complaint.

Contact details for the Financial Ombudsman are as follows;

Write to: Financial Ombudsman Service, Exchange Tower, London, E14 9SR Phone: 0800 234 567 or 0300 123 9 123
Email: complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org.uk
Website: www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk

FORWARDING A COMPLAINT

Where Loanitt has reasonable grounds to be satisfied that another firm may be solely or jointly responsible for the matter alleged in your complaint, Loanitt will forward the complaint, or the relevant part of it, in writing to that other firm. Where we are going to forward your complaint in such a scenario, we will:

a) do so promptly;

b) inform you promptly in a final response letter of why the complaint has been forwarded by

Loanitt to the other firm, and of the other firm’s contact details; and

c) where jointly responsible for the fault alleged in the complaint, Loanitt will comply with our

own obligations under this Policy in relation to the part of the complaint that we have not forwarded.

DEALING WITH A FORWARDED COMPLAINT

When Loanitt receives a complaint that has been forwarded to us by another firm, we will treat the complaint as if it was made directly to us, and as if the complaint was received by Loanitt when the forwarded complaint was received.

On receiving a forwarded complaint, the standard time limits will apply to the complaint from the date on which Loanitt receives the forwarded complaint.

COMPLAINTS RECEIVED OUTSIDE THE TIME LIMITS

If the firm receives a complaint which is outside the time limits for referral to the Financial Ombudsman Service, we will explain the relevant time limits and why you are outside of them in a final response letter.

Please be aware that the Ombudsman can only consider a complaint if:

a) Loanitt has already sent you our final response or summary resolution communication; or

b) eight weeks have elapsed since Loanitt received the complaint.

The Ombudsman cannot consider a complaint if you refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service:
(1) more than six months after the date on which Loanitt sent you its final response or summary resolution communication; or
(2) If it is more than (a) six years after the event complained of; or (if later) (b) three years from the date on which you became aware that you had cause for complaint unless you referred the complaint to Loanitt or to the Ombudsman within that period and have a written acknowledgement or some other record of the complaint having been received.

Loanitt UK Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Our Financial Services Register number is 970579. Our authorisation can be viewed on the Financial Services Register by visiting the website FCA financial services register or by contacting the FCA on 0800 111 6768. No fee is payable by you for our services. We are a credit broker and not a lender. We will receive a commission from the lender, a fixed percentage on the amount you borrow.