| Q | I am unsure whether I have a valid complaint - what can I do? |
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| A | You may contact the Scheme for general guidance on any complaint and what steps can be taken to establish if you have a genuine grievance, although the Scheme is unable to make definitive comment on any specific aspect of your complaint without completion of a complaint form. |
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| Q | How long will my complaint take to be completed? |
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| A | We aim to review all correspondence and respond to the same within 3 weeks of receipt although please note that this period will vary dependent upon the volumes of work we have on hand at any one time.
The average time for a complaint to be fully considered by the Office of Fair Trading is 6 months although this is only an average and complaints can take a longer or shorter period.
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| Q | What is my financial loss? |
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| A | This is the amount of actual loss you have suffered as a direct result of the act or omission by a financial provider about which you are complaining, which loss must be quantified and evidenced. |
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| Q | What evidence is required to support my complaint? |
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| A | You, as the complainant, will need to support your complaint by providing documents to evidence the facts as stated by you in the complaint form. This documentation can take many forms eg policy literature, bank statements, copy correspondence. |
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| Q | What is the role of the Office of Fair Trading in my complaint? |
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| A | The Scheme is operated by the Office of Fair Trading whose staff conduct the initial mediation stage of the Scheme. During this mediation stage the case officers are required to investigate into the circumstances of the complaint but they have no authority to investigate the fine details or to compel any of the parties to provide information in any form. Their inquiry will involve a limited amount of investigation to obtain the facts so that they can attempt to reach an agreed solution.
As part of the enquiry and mediation the case officers will communicate with both parties and at certain times the case officer may venture an opinion to aid the discussion and appreciation of one party’s views but at no time can they compel or direct either party to make or accept any offer. In addition at any time during the enquiry stage it may be found that under the terms of the governing legislation that the Office of Fair Trading should decline or cease to act on your complaint and if this is the case you will be advised accordingly.
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| Q | How do I contact my case officer? |
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| A | You may contact your case officer by letter, e-mail, telephone or by visiting our Office, although if you wish to visit please ring to make an appointment convenient to both parties.
If you have a preferred method of contact eg by e-mail please make this clear when you complete the complaint form.
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| Q | What is the difference between the Scheme and an industry regulator? |
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| A | The Scheme is an independent dispute resolution service which will consider complaints from individuals against Isle of Man financial providers with a view to mediating a satisfactory resolution to the same.
An industry regulator licenses and supervises the financial providers but has no remit to investigate individual’s complaints against their licence holders or to seek compensation for any individual.
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| Q | Can I be awarded anything if I have not suffered a financial loss? |
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| A | The Scheme is primarily concerned with actual financial loss but if extreme distress or inconvenience is deemed to have been suffered through the actions of a financial provider then small awards in the region of between £50 and £300 might be made. |
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| Q | How much will making a complaint cost me? |
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| A | The Scheme is free to all users and no direct charge is made for its use although there might be costs incurred by you during the course of any complaint eg postage, copying charges which will not be recoverable. |
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| Q | What can I do if my complaint is not successful? |
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| A | If the complaint has, for whatever reason, been declined by the Office of Fair Trading then you retain your full legal rights and can pursue your complaint through the Manx Courts. However if the complaint fails by the decision of an Adjudicator then you may only appeal against the decision to the Manx High Court on a point of law and not on the interpretation of the facts of the case. |
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