Who do I contact if I have a complaint against a finance house?

First you must address your original contact you dealt with, ask them for their job title and then request that they provide you with the name of the person who handles complaints. Traditionally, finance houses are required by the FSA to have a complaints procedure, and you should ask for details of this.

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You should then put your complaint in writing, to the person responsible for the complaints procedure. Put the word "complaint" at the top of the letter and provide accurate details of the complaint. Set out all the facts of the complaint clearly and include within the letter what you would like them to do.

Make sure you clearly state what compensation you require because it will be easier for the finance house to deal with. Any identifying numbers, account numbers or invoice numbers that you posses should also be included clearly at the top right hand corner of the letter. Make sure you logical order the events leading upto the complaint starting when your dealings with the finance housed first began upto the current day. Include copies of any correspondence you have received during that time. State clearly at each stage any and all inconvenience/ financial loss cause to you by the finance house.
The company will have to do one of two things.

Either send you an offer of some form of compensation, it is then your right to either except or decline the offer.

Or they will send you a letter of deadlock, which states that they do not agree with your complaint.
After this stage you can then escalate the issue to the Financial Ombudsman, but only once you have been issued with a aforementioned deadlock letter. You can also write to the Financial Ombudsmen if you have not received a formal reply within 8 weeks of issuing the letter.

The decisions made by the Ombudsman are binding on the company and there is no further appeals process, but not for you. This means that if you cannot accept the Ombudsman's decision you can then take the financial house to court. The ombudsman is a free service and you will be require to pay no fees, win or lose.