How to Complain

Under the Consumer Credit Act 2006 you have the right to complain about consumer credit activities and this guide sets out the procedures that we will follow if you have a complaint regarding the consumer credit services provided by Alternative Route Finance Ltd.

You may notify us of your complaint by telephone 0870 011 8311, email at sue@alternativeroutefinance.com or by writing to Alternative Route Finance Ltd, 314-316 Portland Road, Hove, East Sussex, BN3 5LP.

Details of your complaint will be recorded and retained for a minimum period of 3 years. 
It is our intention to resolve any complaint within eight weeks of the complaint being registered.

If the dispute is unresolved you may refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Services and a copy of the Financial Ombudsman Service leaflet your complaint and the ombudsman will be sent to you.  You may also view a copy of the leaflet by going to the Financial Ombudsman Service website, www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk.

Who can complain?

• private individuals
• small businesses with a yearly turnover of under £1 million (some restrictions may apply)
• charities with a yearly income of under £1 million
• trusts with net assets of under £1 million

The rules also list a number of people who can complain even though they are not customers or potential customers. These include anyone:

• who has given the business complained about a guarantee or security for a mortgage, loan, actual (or prospective) regulated consumer-credit or hire agreement or any linked transaction
• about whom information relevant to their financial standing is (or was) held by the business complained about in its capacity as a credit reference agency
• from whom the business complained about has sought to recover payment, under a regulated consumer-credit or hire agreement as part of its debt collecting activities

Making a complaint

A complaint may be made to any member of staff of Alternative Route Finance Ltd who will record the following details:

• Name, Address, Telephone No. and Email Address (if appropriate)  of complainant
• Date of complaint
• Details of the complaint

Any complaint will be referred to a Director of Alternative Route Finance Ltd

Acknowledgement

If we are unable to resolve the complaint immediately we will send you a written acknowledgement within 5 business days and advise you of the name of the person investigating your complaint

Complaint Progress

We will keep you informed of the progress of your complaint and notify you in writing of the proposed resolution.  If we are unable to resolve the complaint within 4 weeks we will write to you to explain why it cannot be resolved and advise you when we will make further contact.

Final response

By the end of 8 weeks we will write to you with:

• a final response

• a response which:

1. explains why we are not in a position to make a final response and an indication when we expect to be able to make a final response and
2. informs you that you may refer the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service

If we write to you with a final response it will set out our final view on the issues raised and:

• accept the complaint and where appropriate offer redress
• offer redress without accepting the complaint
• reject the complaint

We will ask you to acknowledge that the matter has been dealt with to your satisfaction.

If you remain dissatisfied with the response you may refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service within six months of the date of the final response and we will send a copy of the leaflet your complaint and the ombudsman.