It is the policy of G A Jewellers and Pawnbrokers to treat all customers fairly and with respect and understanding. As such we endeavour to offer every customer a friendly and personal service. We understand that it is not always possible to treat every customer to their personal satisfaction and that complaints can be used as an important tool for improving customer service.

If a customer is not satisfied with an aspect of our service a complaint can be made either by letter, email or phone or in person in the branch that is the subject of the complaint. If the complaint is made verbally the details of the complaint will need to be logged using a complaint form which will be given a unique reference number when it is logged on the complaints register.

The FCA defines a complaint as “Any oral or written 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; and • Relates to an activity of a firm providing financial services or products which come under the jurisdiction of the Financial Ombudsman Service.”

Material distress means our actions have directly affected a customer’s emotional state. This may be stated or implied and may include the following feelings upset, embarrassment, anxiety, stress, sorrow, suffering etc. Material inconvenience means our actions have had a direct impact on a customer’s life, causing a disproportionate amount of disruption or difficulty.

When a complaint has been received either verbally or written a letter of acknowledgement will be sent to the complainant to say the complaint has been received and we will aim to resolve the complaint by the end of the third working day following the receipt of the complaint. A copy of the complaints procedure will also be given free of charge at the time the complaint is received.

If the complaint can be resolved within three working days after the day the complaint was received the full complaints procedure does not need to be implemented. A Summary Resolution Letter will be issued to the complainant confirming the closure of the complaint, whether the complaint was upheld and any redress offered and their right to refer the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service if they are not satisfied with the decision.

If the complaint cannot be resolved within three working days a letter of acknowledgement will be sent to the complainant explaining our understanding of the complaint and that we will aim to resolve the complaint with 8 weeks. The complaint will be investigated fully and fairly consistently and promptly. It may be necessary to contact the complainant with regards to the complaint to aid in the investigation of the complaint.

If the complaint after full investigation can be closed within the 8 weeks a final response letter will be issued stating the final decision and the result of the investigation, any offer of redress, together with the details of the basis of calculation and also asking the customer to confirm that they are satisfied with the outcome of the investigation so that the complaint can be considered closed. It will also state that if they are not satisfied with the outcome they can refer the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service within 6 months of the date of the final response and that any referrals after this time will mean the Financial Ombudsman Service will only be able to investigate the complaint in a limited capacity. A copy of the Financial Ombudsman Service leaflet will also be included with the final response letter.

If the complaint cannot be resolved within the 8 week period a letter of acknowledgement will be sent explaining the state of the investigation so far and when we will be in a position to issue a final response letter. We will also issue details for the Financial Ombudsman Service and the complainant’s rights to refer their complaint to them if they are not satisfied with our decision.

A record of all complaints will be kept and maintained by the Compliance Officer including the outcome of the complaint whether it was closed within the 3 day period or within the 8 week period and the amount of redress offered if any. This will then be reported to the FCA on an annual basis. If we receive more than 500 complaints a year this will need to be reported to the FCA on an annual basis.

All members of staff will need to be familiar with the complaints policy and ensure that when a complaint is lodged the procedures are followed and the complaint is not discussed with the complainant as this could prejudice the investigation of the complaint.

All complaints need to be sent to the Compliance Officer as soon as they are received so that the complaints process can be started and the investigation can begin. After a complaint is logged a root cause analysis will be conducted to see if there is an underlying problem that can be corrected to improve our customer service and reduce the likelihood of complaints in the future.

Complaints Procedure.

G A Jewellers and Pawnbrokers consider a complaint to be as defined by the FCA “Any oral or written 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; and • Relates to an activity of our firm which is subject to the jurisdiction of the Financial Ombudsman Service.

A complaint can be made and received via letter, email, telephone (at standard rates) or in person.

If you wish to make a complaint free of charge please contact in writing:
The Compliance Officer
Gold Arts
150 Terminus Road
Eastbourne
East Sussex
BN21 3AN

By phone: The Compliance Officer (01323 737800)

By email: [email protected]

We will aim to resolve your complaint within 3 working days after the day the complaint was received. If your complaint can be resolved within three working days we will send out a Summary Communication Letter to advise you how we have resolved the complaint, any further actions we are to take and/or the appropriate level of redress we will offer if the complaint is upheld. If you are unsatisfied with our handling of your complaint you can ask the Financial Ombudsman Service to look into your complaint free of charge but this must be within 6 months of the date of the summary communication letter. The contact details are listed below.

If your complaint cannot be resolved within 3 working days following the day the complaint was received we will send you a written acknowledgement of your complaint. If you make a complaint orally our written acknowledgement will set out our understanding of your complaint.

Your complaint will be investigated diligently and will be assessed fairly, consistently and promptly. We may ask you to submit copies of documentation e.g. a copy of a receipt and may request further information from you to assist us with our investigation. We will take into account any documents and/or information you may provide in relation to your complaint. Any personal data contained on any documents we ask you to submit will be processed fairly and legally as we are required to do under the Data Protection Act and also the General Data Protection Regulation.v

If your complaint cannot be resolved within 3 working days following the day the complaint was received we will ensure that you are regularly kept up to date with the progress of the investigation into your complaint. We will undertake a full investigation of your complaint as quickly and as diligently as possible. We would expect this process to take no longer than 8 weeks after the day the complaint was received. If we are satisfied that we have resolved your complaint we will issue a final response letter which will be fair clear and misleading and state our understanding of your complaint, the result of our investigation and whether your complaint was upheld or not. It will also offer a suitable redress if the complaint is upheld.

If you are not satisfied with the outcome of our investigation you have the right to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service free of charge but you must do so within six months of the date of this letter. If you do not refer your complaint in time, the Ombudsman will not have our permission to consider your complaint and so will only be able to do so in very limited circumstances for example if the Ombudsman believes that the delay was as a result of exceptional circumstances.

If we are unable to resolve your complaint within 8 weeks we will write to you and inform you of this and let you know when we feel we will be able to issue a final response letter. At this time you are also free to ask the Financial Ombudsman Service to look at your complaint if you feel unsatisfied with our response. This is a free service.

The Financial Ombudsman Service can be contacted either in writing, by phone or email. All the contact details are listed below.

Financial Ombudsman Service
Exchange Tower
London
E14 9SR
Telephone: 0845 080 1800
E-mail: [email protected]

An explanatory Financial Ombudsman Service leaflet will be provided either with the summary communication letter or with our final response letter. The Financial Ombudsman Service can only investigate complaints in relation to our pawnbroking service and not any of our other services.

An explanatory Financial Ombudsman Service leaflet will be provided either with the summary communication letter or with our final response letter. The Financial Ombudsman Service can only investigate complaints in relation to our pawnbroking service and not any of our other services.