Complaints

Published

Introduction

Better Society Capital (BSC) aims to provide the highest standard of service at all times. However, we recognise that things can go wrong and you may wish to raise a complaint with us. In these situations, your feedback can also be important in helping us to improve.

Complaints can be made free of charge, through various communication channels, and making one will not affect your chances of receiving funding or the level of service received from BSC.

As well as the Complaints Handling Procedures set out on this page, we also have a Complaints Policy in place – please email complaints@bettersocietycapital.com if you would like a copy of this document.

What is a complaint and who can make one

A complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction, made verbally or in writing.

BSC will review and respond to all complaints received. Our procedures are designed to ensure that we treat all complaints fairly and consistently in an efficient manner so that we can resolve them as promptly as possible.

How to complain

If you wish to complain, you can either speak with your usual contact at BSC in the first instance or through one of the methods below. All complaints will be investigated and responded to by BSC’s Complaints Management Function. Please try and provide us with as much information as possible to help investigate your complaint and, if you can, tell us how you would like us to put matters right.

If we believe that your complaint relates to the actions of another firm (solely or jointly with BSC), we will refer your complaint to them.

Who to contact

It is important to us that you can easily notify us of your dissatisfaction, so we offer a number of ways for you to do this:

What we will do

We will investigate and respond to your complaint within the timelines set out in our Complaints Policy. Initially, we will send you an acknowledgement (by post and/or email) within 3 business days of receipt of your complaint. Please note that complaints received outside of standard business hours will be treated as received on the next business day.

Once we have reviewed your complaint we will send you a final response with the outcome of our investigation within 8 weeks. If we need more time to investigate, we will write to you explaining the position and indicating how much extra time may be required.

If you do not receive a final response from us within the time limits, you can refer the matter to the Chair of BSC (details below).

Who you can escalate to if you are unhappy with our response

Under FCA rules, only certain client types can refer their complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) if they are unhappy with our final decision and/or do not receive this within 8 weeks. We believe it is unlikely that our current client base will be able to go to FOS – however, you can refer the matter to the Chair of BSC and you must contact them within 6 months of the date of our final response letter.

Chair, Better Society Capital, New Fetter Place, 8-10 New Fetter Lane, London EC4A 1AZ

FOS: if you would like to contact the FOS for free, impartial advice regarding your eligibility you can visit https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/ or call 0800 023 4567.

Civil action

If you remain dissatisfied with the outcome, you may be able to seek legal action. It is recommended that you take independent legal advice if you are unsure of accepting/rejecting any offers made to you by BSC.

Confidentiality

BSC maintains a register of all complaints received, along with accompanying documentation. The details of the complainant and complaint will, so far as is reasonable, be kept confidential, subject to any regulatory and/or legal obligations.

We will aim to comply with the UK’s General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and BSC’s internal Data Protection Policy - personal data associated with the investigation will be handled in accordance with these requirements.