Complaints Handling Procedure (“CHP”)

As a regulated RICS firm, we have in place a CHP, which meets the regulatory requirements. Our CHP has two stages. Stage one of the CHP gives our firm the opportunity to review and consider your complaint in full. Our firm will try to resolve your complaint to your satisfaction. If you are not happy with our response, you will have the opportunity to take your complaint to stage two. Stage two gives you, the client, the opportunity to have your complaint reviewed and considered by an independent redress provider, approved by RICS.

Stage One

If you have spoken to us about your complaint, please put the details of your complaint in writing. We ask that you put your complaint in writing to make sure that we have a full understanding of the reasons for your complaint. Please send your written complaint to:

Simon Pope

Farrow & Gould Limited

124, City Road

London

EC1V 2NX
 

t: 0203 962 5763

e: info@farrowandgould.com

w: www.farrowandgould.com

We will consider your complaint as quickly as possible, and will acknowledge receipt of your complaint within 7 days. If we are not able to give you a full response, we will update you within 28 days.

Stage Two

If we are unable to agree on how to resolve your complaint then you have the opportunity to take your complaint to an independent redress provider, as approved by RICS Regulatory Board. We have chosen to use the following redress providers:

For Consumer Clients:

RICS Dispute Resolution Service

55 Colmore Row

Birmingham

B3 2AA

t: +44 (0) 20 7334 3806

e: drs@rics.org

w: www.rics.org/dispute-resolution-service

For Business-to-Business clients:

RICS Dispute Resolution Service

55 Colmore Row

Birmingham

B3 2AA

t: +44 (0) 20 7334 3806

e: drs@rics.org

w: www.rics.org/dispute-resolution-service

Complaints Log Guidance

Information that RICS recommends should be included and why

RICS has a sample complaints log which documents the type of information firms should consider recording on a complaints log. If the sample log is not appropriate for your firm’s needs, we recommend you include any additional information to your existing log, or develop a new log taking into consideration any additional information that should be included.

A complaints log should be in place to demonstrate the tracking and management of a complaint; demonstrate what actions have been taken and when; identify any training needs and reduce the number of complaints a firm or individual receives.

Recommendations

Below are some suggestions that firms should take into consideration when creating or recording information in their complaints logs.

Complainant Details

Firms’ should consider including full details of the complainant within the complaints log. These should include the contact name, postal address, email address, telephone and/or fax number.

It may also be useful to record any impairments or special circumstances which the firm should take into consideration when progressing the complaint.

Dates

To demonstrate how timely a firm is dealing with complaints, firms should consider including the dates of when the complaint was received and when any action are carried out. i.e. each time the complainant was contacted, when action or investigation took place, when the matter was referred to a redress scheme and/or insurers etc.

Complaints handler and reference numbers

If a firm has more than one complaints handler, it may be useful to include the name of the person who is dealing with the complaint for ease of reference. Firms should also allocate a reference number to the complaint to make it easier to locate the file.

Relevant Person

The complaints log should clarify what the complaints are about, i.e. firm or an individual, to establish if there are any training needs, or whether some of the firm’s internal processes need amending to reduce the number of complaints received.

Description of complaint

Complaints logs should always include a description of the complaint, detailing what the complaint is about and ensuring that all correspondence is in writing. 

The firm should also establish if there has been a number of complaints about a particular area of work or about a particular individual which may need addressing further.

Investigation and outcome

Complaints logs should outline what outcome the firm has reached through investigation of the complaint and what action will be/has been taken. Firms should include details of whether the matter has been referred to insurers, independent redress etc. It should also be noted whether the complainant has been informed in writing of the firm’s outcome and what the next step is should they not agree with the actions taken by the firm.

Further action by firm

Firms should consider whether any insights have been gained from the investigation of a complaint in order to reduce the number of complaints received or prevent a similar situation arising again. This could include the noting down of any potential areas of training the firm could offer; amendments to policies and procedures; individual training needs; and notification to insurers and/or redress providers.

Example Complaints Log  -  Information to log

Details

• Complainant Details:
• Name(s)
• All available contact information (address, telephone, fax, email etc)
• Any special circumstances ?
• Date complaint received
• Date complaint logged
• Logged by
• Complaint reference number
• Relevant Person Details:
• Firm or individual (name of person)
• Multiple complaints about the same individual?
• Details of complaint:
• Received in writing?
• Description of complaint (what, where, when, who, why etc)
• Has more than one complaint been received within the same area of work? 
• Investigation and outcome:
• What action has been taken?
• Is complainant satisfied?
• Referred to independent redress?
• Insurers notified?
• Complainant confirmed outcome in writing?
• Has or is RICS involved?
• Action taken by firm to prevent re-occurrence and to reduce the number of complaints for that individual or that area of work
• Any other comments