We aim to offer our members high quality, value for money services at all times. If for any reason anyone is unhappy with our service or the conduct of our officers, employees or volunteers we encourage them to let us know. This facilitates continuous improvement in our service delivery to all members of Halton Credit Union.
“A Complaint is an expression of dissatisfaction, whether written or oral, about a service that the Credit Union has provided, or failed to provide that has resulted in a financial loss, material distress or material inconvenience, or the potential for such loss or inconvenience to occur.
A refusal of a loan application is not a valid complaint unless the complainant can demonstrate they have been treated unfairly or in a discriminatory manner.
Complains can be made by eligible complainants. An eligible complainant is:
- A Credit Union member or junior saver, or a potential or former member or junior saver.
- A nominated beneficiary or personal representative of a member or junior saver
- A business with turnover of less than £1 million”.
The FCA states that Credit Unions must publicise ‘at the point of sale’ the availability of the complaints procedure. Therefore, HCU includes the leaflets ‘Treating Customers Fairly’ and ‘How to make a complaint’ in the Membership Application Pack.
RECEIVING COMPLAINTS:
- A complaint can be made in person, by email or over the telephone.
- If necessary, an appointment will be made to see a Manager or Senior Officer of Halton Credit Union at one of the main offices.
- The Manager/Senior Officer will record the complaint and try to resolve the situation at the initial stage.
- If not resolved the Member is given a copy of HCU’s Internal Complaints Procedure in line with this policy and their complaint is referred to the Credit Unions Complaints Officer
- If the complaint is of a serious nature the Complaints Officer will log the information in the Complaints Register and supply a copy to the Chair of the Board.
- All completed Internal Complaint Reporting forms (even if there was no further action required) must be given to the Complaints Officer.
HCU COMPLAINT OFFICERS:
A member of the Board of Directors will be appointed Complaints Officer each year after the Annual General Meeting (AGM). A second Board member will be appointed as an alternate (Deputy Complaints Officer) in the event the Complaints Officer is unable to discharge this responsibility or if the complaint is against the post holder. If the complaint is against the alternate (Deputy Complaints Officer), the Board will appoint a suitable person to investigate the complaint.
The Complaints Officer will be responsible for actioning and investigating all complaints that are not resolved at the initial stage. Appropriate actions will be taken to identify and remedy and recurring or systemic problems as well as any specific problem identified by a complaint.
‘ELIGIBLE COMPLAINANT’:
For the purposes of the complaints process, an eligible complainant is:
- Direct Eligible Complainant: a member, potential member or former member of the Credit Union; a juvenile depositor, potential juvenile depositor or former juvenile depositor of the Credit Union.
- Direct Eligible Complainant: having an indirect relationship with the Credit Union:
(a) a guarantor
(b) a beneficiary of those having a direct relationship with the Credit Union (where, for example, a person has been nominated to receive property on a person's death); - A representative: of those having a direct or indirect relationship with the Credit Union (where, for example, a person is acting on behalf of a deceased member).
RESPONDING TO COMPLAINTS
Within a Day: the aim is to resolve complaints to the complainant's satisfaction by the end of the day after the complaint was received (Complaints resolved in this time period will not be included in the Annual Report to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and do not need to be kept for three years).
Within 3 Days: If the complaint cannot be resolved quickly, an acknowledgement will be sent to the complainant within 3 days of receipt of the complaint including the name of the Complaints Officer together with a copy of the Credit Unions Internal Complaints Procedure.
Within 8 weeks: It is HCU’s intention to provide a complainant with a satisfactory final response within 8 weeks of receipt of the complaint or provide a response which explains the delay and advising the complainant when a final response can be expected. The complainant will be asked whether they are willing to extend the time for the investigation to be completed.
The complainant will be advised that if they are dissatisfied with the delay that they can refer the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Services (a copy of the FOS leaflet “Want to take your complaint further?” to be included in response).The FOS provides a free service to members and consumers and HCU will co-operate with any investigation undertaken by them on a complainant’s behalf.
A final response will include a summary of the complaint and the investigation, HCU’s views on the issues raised in the complaint, an acknowledgement by the Credit Union if it has been at fault and details of redress or offer made to settle the complaint. Reference will also be made to the complainant's right to refer to the FOS if they remain unsatisfied.
RECORDS AND REPORTING:
HCU Will Keep All Records Of Complaints Taking More Than The Following Business Day To Resolve, For A Period Of 3 Years.
Each April HCU Will Report To The FCA The Total Number Of Complaints Received Between 1st April And 31st March The Previous Year. The Credit Union MUST Make A Return Even If It Is A Nil Return.
POLICY STATEMENT:
Halton Credit Union aims to provide all members with high quality financial services. If we fail to provide a satisfactory level and quality of service that members demand, we will endeavour to put things right within the shortest possible time. To facilitate this process we have developed an Internal Complaints Procedure and regard complaints as an opportunity to improve our service.
How to Make a Complaint:
Should the need arise you can make a complaint in writing to:
Halton Credit Union Ltd
115-116 River Walk
Runcorn Shopping City
Runcorn
Cheshire
WA7 2BX