Complaints Handling Procedure Established in 1875, Redmayne-Bentley is one of the leading independently owned private client stockbrokers in the UK. With over 35 branches throughout the UK and in the Republic of Ireland, we provide clients with a full range of stockbroking and investment management services.

Our Commitment To You

At Redmayne-Bentley we are dedicated to providing you with the best available service at all times. Should you feel that any aspect of our business has not fulfilled your expectations, please allow us the opportunity to put things right.

The Financial Ombudsman Service

Our affiliation to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) ensures that any investigation will be fair and impartial, and that every effort will be made to reach a speedy and satisfactory conclusion.

For further information regarding the Financial Ombudsman Service, there is an explanatory leaflet entitled Your Complaint and the Ombudsman which can be obtained from any Redmayne-Bentley branch.

Your complaint can be made by letter, fax, e-mail telephone or visit. This should be addressed to your account executive, local branch, or to our Head Office in Leeds and we will assist with your complaint. At any time you can ask for your complaint to be referred to the Complaints Department, based at our Head Office in Leeds.

Once your complaint has been received, written confirmation, including contact details of the executive dealing with your request, will be sent to you within five business days. If the complaint has been remedied within this time frame, a final response will also be included (please see overleaf).

The Process

The details of your complaint will be thoroughly examined by the appropriate person, who will seek guidance or assistance where he/she has any uncertainty as to the accuracy of the evidence and information with which they are dealing. In order to show impartiality and fairness to you, when the investigation is thought to be concluded the appropriate person will pass your complaint to their head of department and/or the Complaints Officer, particularly if he/she is or has been directly involved. This information will be evaluated and a decision made to either continue the investigation, or send you a final response.

FCA Definitions of an Eligible Complaint

Whether you are (or were previously) a client of Redmayne-Bentley, a potential client, or if you are acting as a representative/agent for a current or previous client, your complaint must be in accordance with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) definitions.

The complaint must allege that there has been, or will be any of the following:

• Financial loss;
• Material distress;
• Material inconvenience.

Eligible Complainants

• A consumer;
• A micro-enterprise employing fewer than ten persons and with a turnover not exceeding €2m;
• A charity with an annual income of less than £1m; or
• A trustee of a trust with a net asset value of less than £1m.

Timescale

Should the investigation still be ongoing after four weeks, we will inform you in writing immediately, this is known as a holding response. This will explain why an outcome is not yet possible and when further contact will be made.

The Final Response

We are obliged to inform you of our conclusions, in writing within eight weeks of your complaint. This is known as a final response, and will include one of the following explanations;

• The Complaints Officer may conclude that the evidence does not support the complaint, and rule that no further action with regard to your complaint is necessary.
• Where the evidence does support your complaint, the Complaints Officer will decide whether some form of redress is appropriate. This will vary depending on the circumstances and merits of each individual case and may not involve financial restitution.
• Where responsibility has been accepted for any acts or omissions then you should be provided with fair compensation. This will be clearly identified to you when the final response is forwarded.

If you are dissatisfied with the final response, or if we are unable to complete our investigation into your complaint within eight weeks, then your complaint can be referred to the FOS, but must be done so within six months of receiving the final response. We will forward you a copy of the FOS explanatory leaflet, copies of which are available from any of our branches. On acceptance of compensation by you, we will act on the offer as quickly as possible.