Complaints

Your right to complain

Although we always try to provide a high standard of service, we understand that there may be occasions where you aren’t happy with the services we’ve provided.  

That’s why we have a complaints procedure.

Who to contact

So, if you are unhappy with our services, please contact us.

  • By phone: Telephone +44 (0)1903 534587
  • By e-mail: complianceofficer@carpenterboxfa.com
  • By post: Carpenter Box Financial Advisers, Amelia House, Crescent Road, Worthing, BN11 1RL.
  • In person: Our offices are open Monday to Friday 9am to 5:30pm (except bank holidays).

What we do when a complaint is received

Our actions will be the same whether your complaint is made in writing or verbally. We aim to assess any complaint fairly, consistently and promptly 

Where possible, we’ll try to resolve your concerns within 3 working days of receiving your complaint.

If we can resolve your complaint within 3 working days, we will, where the client has indicated they have accepted our firm’s response:

Contact you by the end of the third day of receiving your complaint, confirming how we have dealt with it.

If we cannot resolve your complaint within 3 working days, we will:

  • Write to you within 5 working days of receiving your complaint
  • Investigate your complaint further.
    • We may need to get a signed letter of authority from you so we can collect certain information from other parties on your behalf
    • We aim to complete our investigation within 8 weeks of receiving your complaint
  • Write to you again when we have completed our investigation, confirming:
    • Details of our investigation
    • Whether your complaint should be upheld or not
    • What corrective action or redress (or both) may be suitable
  • If we haven’t been able to complete our investigation within 8 weeks of receiving it, we will write to you again, explaining:
    • The reason(s) why we have not been able to complete our investigation
    • When we hope to complete our investigation

If you are unhappy with our response

If you’re not happy with our response, you may refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service free of charge, who may be able to help.

What we do if your complaint is not about our firm 

If you complain to us, but we are satisfied that the complaint relates to another firm, we will:

  • Write to the firm concerned (if we can identify them), explaining that we believe they need to consider your complaint. We will also enclose details of your complaint.
    • If this was made in writing – the copy of your original letter / email
    • If this was made verbally – written details of the notes we made
  • Write to you, giving you firm’s contact details. We will also provide you with a copy of the letter we send to the firm. A copy of the letter we send to you will also be sent to the firm concerned.