Complaints procedure

Our clients are at the heart of everything we do and we always want to provide the client with the best service possible. However, sometimes, things can go wrong and when they do we must recognise when a complaint has been made so that we can resolve it as quickly as possible and with the minimum impact on our client and our business.

This leaflet explains how you can help us to deal with your complaint and what to do if the problem has not been resolved to your satisfaction.

If you have a complaint

If, for whatever reason, you are unhappy with our products or services, please follow the process below.

Stage 1

Contact your Independent Financial Adviser or the Saffron IFA Sales Director at our head office either by telephone, in writing or in person at a branch.

Wherever possible, please provide your name, address and a daytime contact telephone number.

Stage 2

In the unlikely event that we have been unable to resolve your complaint at the first stage, you can contact the Executive Secretary at our head office, either in writing or by telephone.

The address is:
Saffron IFA, Saffron House, 1A Market Street,
Saffron Walden, Essex, CB10 1HX.
Telephone: 0845 600 7432

All aspects of your complaint will be reviewed by the appropriate person who will provide a final response.

Stage 3

If you are unhappy with our response, you may be eligible to refer the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service. You must do this within six months of our final response. Details of this service will be given to you with our final response.

It is important that you give us the opportunity of solving the problem before referring it to the Ombudsman Service, as they normally only consider a complaint when it has not been possible to reach a satisfactory outcome with Saffron IFA directly.

How long before I get a reply?

We will acknowledge your complaint within five working days and endeavour to provide you with a full response within 10 working days. We aim to resolve the complaint within four weeks. These timescales should allow us to fully investigate and respond to your concerns. However, where possible, we will do our very best to respond to you more quickly.

If after eight weeks we are not in a position to issue a full response to your complaint, we will confirm this, together with the timescale within which you can expect a final response. At this stage, if you are dissatisfied with the delay you may refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

Finally ....

We hope you never need to use this complaints procedure. However, if you do, please be assured that we will deal with your complaint as quickly and fairly as possible. As a client, you are important to us.

Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)

Saffron Independent Financial Advisers Ltd is a member of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) established under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. You may be entitled to compensation from the scheme if we cannot meet our obligations. This depends on the type of business and circumstance of the claim.

Insurance advising and arranging is covered for 100% of the first £2,000 and 90% of the remainder of the claim, without any upper limit.

Most types of investment business are covered for 100% of the first £30,000 and 90% of the next £20,000 so the maximum compensation is £48,000.

Further information about compensation scheme arrangements is available from the FSCS