Complaints Procedure
If you believe that your mortgage was mis-sold, or if you are unsatisfied with your mortgage provider, you may wish to make a complaint. In this case you are advised to observe the following procedure.
Make the complaint to your mortgage provider first: mortgage lending in the UK has been regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) since the 31st October 2004. Their rules dictate the way in which your complaint should be handled by your lender. Your lender is required to publish a complaints procedure on their website, or have a leaflet available detailing the procedure.
Your lender should investigate your complaint thoroughly and make enquiries as appropriate. If you make your complaint in person or by telephone, note down the name of the person with whom you spoke, as well as the date and time of your call or consultation. If you do not hear back within three weeks time, follow up your phone call or consultation with a letter detailing your complaint: keep copies of the complaint letters that you send for future reference.
If you are unhappy with the response that you receive, you may wish to use an independent complaint system. You can contact the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) within six months of the final response that you received from your mortgage provider. The FOS is available via telephone on (+44) 0845 080 1800.
If you feel that there were unfair terms in your contract, you can refer your case to the Financial Services Authority or to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), who aim to eliminate unfair terms and ensure that national trading standards are maintained. The FSA do not have the authority to refund any money that you have lost due to unfair contract terms, but they will appeal to your mortgage lender on your behalf.
Each of these organisations can be contacted in the event of a complaint regarding your mortgage, or loss of money due to your lender's misguidance or poor conduct:
- The Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB): www.citizensadvice.org.uk
- The Financial Services Authority (FSA): www.moneymadeclear.fsa.gov.uk
- The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS): www.fscs.org.uk
- Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS): www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk
It is worth remembering that there are statutory regulations in the UK which are designed to assist you when lodging a complaint. The standard complaints procedure outlined above should enable you to register your complaint in an efficient and effective way.
