Complaints Procedure
Guernsey Community Savings LBG (“GCS”) has
introduced certain Policies and Procedures covering all aspects of the
company’s business activities, and such Policies and Procedures are contained
in the company’s Operational Procedures Manual.
This Complaints Procedure forms part of the
Operational Procedures Manual.
It is an expectation under normal business
practices for the nature of services provided by GCS and its customers
(generally a retail-type service), that a formal Complaints Procedure will be
in place, and details made available to customers if and when required. Rather than adopting arbitrary complaints
standards, GCS has chosen to follow the directions of the Guernsey regulator
(Guernsey Financial Services Commission (“GFSC”)) under various codes of
practice relevant to financial services providers generally. Such codes require that every party licensed
by the GFSC shall have in operation an effective and robust complaints handling
procedure for consideration, together with a central recording system and
specific reporting requirements. Whilst
these codes are not directly applicable to GCS, they are felt to be
comprehensive and relevant to the type of services being provided to GCS
customers.
Complaints
A complaint is defined as any oral or written
expression of dissatisfaction, regardless of whether it is justified or not,
from, or on behalf of a person about the provision of, or failure to provide a
service where the complainant feels or alleges that he has suffered or may have
suffered financial loss, material distress or material inconvenience.
Staff should follow the below procedures to ensure that their handling of complaints is appropriate.
1.
Any complaint of
any nature whether verbal or written shall immediately be referred to the GCS CEO.
In the absence of the CEO, reference will be made to the Chairman or one of the
GCS Directors for review and processing in the meantime. If the CEO, Chairman or any Director are
implicated in the complaint, they will be excluded from the review process
apart from any involvement or input as may be required from them during the investigation.
2.
The CEO shall
maintain a record of all complaints received and on receiving notification of a
new complaint will enter appropriate details in the record. An acknowledgement
will be provided to the complainant.
3.
The circumstances
of the complaint will be fully investigated as a matter of priority and within five
business days of the receipt of the complaint either a full written reply
will be provided or the complainant will be advised in writing (letter or
email) that the situation is being reviewed and that a full reply will be
provided within a further ten business days. A final response should be
provided within twenty business days.
4.
The Board of
Directors shall also be notified of complaints which are received and
whether they were rejected or upheld and any compensation paid or the terms on
which settlement has been achieved. For this purpose a complaint is deemed to be
settled when a full reply has been sent to the complainant and no response has
been received after a period of four weeks has elapsed from the date on
which the reply was sent, or if the complainant has confirmed that they are
satisfied with the outcome and consider the complaint to be addressed and
closed.
5. The record of complaints will be maintained by the CEO for a period of five years prior to archiving or destruction.
Channel Islands Financial Ombudsman (“CIFO”)
As a service targeted to retail customers resident
in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, customers will have recourse to the services of
CIFO if it is felt that any complaint has not been handled properly or dealt
with to a satisfactory conclusion.
When providing a
final response to a complainant, GCS will advise the complainant that if they
are dissatisfied with the outcome, they may refer their complaint to CIFO. GCS will
cooperate in any investigation in a completely open and honest manner and
provide any records that CIFO may require to support the investigation.
The Board will consider any such complaints, the
background to the complaint, and any findings by CIFO, and determine whether
any further internal action is required, and whether any additional staff
training or new procedures may be required.
Publication of Complaints Procedure
Details of this procedure, the contact details and
also links to CIFO will be published on the GCS website.
Version
1 – November 2019
Version
2 – October 2023 updated with minor changes
Version
3 - October 2025 updated to remove significant complaints and personnel changes