We aim to provide high quality financial services tailored to meet the needs and expectations of our customers. We do however, accept that there may be times when things go wrong and you feel dissatisfied. When this happens, we want to hear about it so we can explain things and put them right.
The Newcastle Building Society is covered by the Financial Ombudsman Service, and has laid down a formal complaints procedure. We do, however, endeavour to resolve any matter as quickly as possible and trust that use of the full procedure will not be necessary.
Our aims:-
- Make sure your complaint receives a full and fair investigation
- Sort out your complaint quickly in accordance with strict timescales
- Apologise when things have gone wrong and make sure we put them right.
Stage One
Should you feel you have cause to complain, in the first instance, a staff member at one of our branches or at Principal Office will endeavour to deal with the problem and will, hopefully, bring the matter to a speedy and satisfactory conclusion for you.
If you still express dissatisfaction, and you feel that the Society has not dealt with your complaint correctly, you can request that the Society deals with the matter in accordance with our formal complaints procedure.
To do this, you should write, e-mail, or telephone the Complaints Officer giving the following information:-
1. Your full name and address;
2. Your account number, or any other reference quoted by the Society;
3. Full details of your complaint;
4. Any other information you feel relevant to your complaint, and
5. Why you feel the matter should be resolved in your favour.
The matter will be recorded as a formal complaint, and will be investigated as Stage One of our official complaints procedure.
Stage Two
The correspondence will then be passed directly to the appropriate Senior Manager, who has the expertise and competence to deal with this matter, and who is not directly involved in the subject of the complaint.
The Manager will write to you so that you may fully consider any further action you wish to take. There could, of course, be further correspondence with the Manager at this stage.
The Final Stage
In the unlikely event that you still feel aggrieved, you may then write again to the Complaints Officer. This represents the final stage of our official complaints procedure and, at this point, the matter will be referred to a member of the Society's Executive.
All papers relating to the problem will be passed to the Executive responsible for that area of the Society's operation, who will review the matter and, wherever possible, use such discretion as is available to resolve the problem. The relevant Executive will then write to you with the final determination in this matter.
If, after the above procedure has been exhausted, you still feel you have a genuine complaint against the Society, you may refer the case to the Financial Services Ombudsman, provided that the complaint is one that is covered by the Scheme, and within 6 months of receiving the final determination.
We shall endeavour to deal with all correspondence within strict time limits. We will acknowledge complaints within five days of receipt addressed to the Chief Solicitor, giving the name and job title of the person handling the complaint together with details of our internal complaints handling procedures. We will, within four weeks of receiving any complaint, send a final response or a holding response.
In any event, within the period of eight weeks from your initial complaint, we will send you a final response to your complaint. If you are then not satisfied with our response you may then refer the matter to the Financial Services Ombudsman.
Useful Contact Details
The address of the Financial Ombudsman Service is as follows:
The Financial Ombudsman Service
South Quay Plaza
183 Marsh Wall
London
E14 9SR
Tel: 0845 0801800
Web Site: www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk
The address of the Society's Complaints Officer is:
The Complaints Officer
Compliance Department
Newcastle Building Society
Portland House
New Bridge Street
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 8AL
Tel: 0845 734 4345