This process covers the following companies that are part of the Vertu Motors group:
We take all complaints seriously.
If a customer contacts our Customer Services team or the Group’s central support centre directly (either by letter, email or telephone) or via a third party, their concern will be logged on the central system. An initial response will normally be made to the customer within 48 hours after the time that the concern is logged onto the system. This may take longer when the circumstances are complicated or the individuals involved are temporarily out of the business.
Our process for dealing with complaints received by us will differ depending on what the complaint is about.
We will treat as a FCA regulated product complaint relating to credit broking or insurance product (Regulated Complaint) any oral or written or email expression of dissatisfaction, whether justified or not, from, or on behalf of, a person about the provision of, or failure to provide, a financial service, which alleges that the complainant has suffered (or may suffer) financial loss, material distress or material inconvenience. This includes complaints made to our dealerships or to our central Customer Services team.
All other complaints regarding goods or non-financial services supplied by us will be treated as a general complaint.
Many concerns can be dealt with straight away but sometimes it is necessary for us to look into the matters you have raised in more detail. Whether you have contacted the dealership or department that you have been dealing with direct, or whether you have contacted our central Customer Services team, in most cases the relevant dealership or department will still be responsible for attempting to resolve your concern.
The responsible manager or director will contact you to attempt to resolve the concern and will update the central system accordingly.
If the concern has not been resolved within 14 days it will be automatically escalated so that the operational director in charge of the dealership’s division is notified. When a concern is believed to have been resolved by the responsible manager or director, they will submit the concern for closure via the central system.
You may raise or discuss your concern with our central Customer Services team at any stage.
After the process above, if we are unable to resolve your complaint to your satisfaction, then we will provide details of certified Alternative Dispute Resolution providers that you may contact.
In addition to the process above, our central review team will also review all regulated Complaints and we have a slightly more formal process as follows:
• Promptly following receipt of your complaint
Any regulated Complaint that has not been resolved straight away will be recorded by our central Customer Services team and we will send you a letter to acknowledge your concerns.
If we believe that another firm or company is responsible for the matters to which your complaint relates and is therefore best placed to resolve it, we may forward your complaint to them to investigate. If we do so, we will write to you to let you know and will give you the name of the firm or company to which we are forwarding your complaint.
• Within eight weeks from receipt
Unless covered by the second paragraph below, we will aim to have completed our investigation and provide you with our final response in relation to your complaint within eight weeks of receipt of your complaint. If we cannot provide you with our response within eight weeks, we will write to you explaining why this is the case and indicate when a response will be sent to you. You will also be advised of your right to take the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service should you be dissatisfied with the outcome of our investigation and our final response.
• Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Ruling 11.01.2024 - DCA (Discretionary Commission Arrangements) & FCA Update 19.12.2024 - Non DCA Commission Complaints / Paused Response Complaints:
Where it is established that your complaint relates to motor finance discretionary commission arrangements (DCAs), in line with guidance initially set out by the Financial Conduct Authority communication dated 11 January 2024, we advised that we would pause our response timeframe for a 37 week period, until at least the 25 September 2024. The FCA then issued further communications, for DCA complaints: 30 July 2024, and non-DCA commission complaints: 19 December 2024, extending the final response period for these type of complaints until after 4 December 2025. You can find more details in relation to the paused response time for commission complaints here: https://www.fca.org.uk/carfinance. Our final response will advise you of your extended 15 month right to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service.