Complaint Handling Procedure

We always want to provide the best possible service for our customers, however we recognise that sometimes complaints can arise. If you are dissatisfied with the service we have provided to you, you can make a complaint.

To make a complaint, please contact us using the information provided below. We will then review your complaint and provide you with our response. If you are not satisfied with the response we have provided, you can escalate the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service for a final decision.

How to make a complaint

If you wish to make a complaint about our service, you can do so:

  • By emailing us at admin@officialmortgages.co.uk
  • By calling us on 01777 809700
  • By post at The Official Mortgage Company, Cumbria Cottage, Town Street, Clayworth, DN22 9AD

Information to provide when making a complaint

We aim to resolve your complaint as quickly as possible. To help us do this, please provide the following when making your complaint:

  1. Your name;
  2. A description of why you are dissatisfied;
  3. What you would like us to do to put things right; and
  4. A phone number and email address that we can reach you on.

What happens after making a complaint?

Shortly after receiving your complaint, we will send you an acknowledgement letter, letting you know that we’ve received the complaint and that we are looking into it. We will also let you know when you should receive our response, which will be within 8-weeks from the date you made your complaint.

Our response

Before we will respond to your complaint, our complaint handler will investigate the circumstances surrounding your complaint and which led to it being made. They will look at why you have made your complaint and investigate what might have gone wrong. We will then seek to keep you updated on the progress of your complaint up to the time when you receive our response. Then, within 8 weeks from the date of your complaint, our complaint handler will send you either:

  1. A final response addressing the complaint and outlining your right to appeal with the Financial Ombudsman Service if you are dissatisfied with the resolution of your complaint; or
  2. A written response which explains why we are not in a position to make our final response, giving reasons for the further delay, indicating when we expect to be able to provide our final response and informing you that you can refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service if you are dissatisfied with the delay.

Within our final response, we will either:

  • Accept the complaint and, where appropriate, offer redress or remedial action;
  • Offer redress or remedial action without accepting the complaint; or
  • Reject the complaint and gives reasons for doing so.

The Financial Ombudsman Service

Should you be unhappy with our response, you can refer the complaint directly to the Financial Ombudsman Service. You can escalate your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service by contacting them at:

More information regarding the Financial Ombudsman Service can be found within the leaflet attached with our final response which can also be accessed at http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/consumer-leaflet.htm.

If you wish to raise your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service, you must do this within six months from the date of our final response unless we have expressly said otherwise within our final response. You can find more information on the services provided by the Financial Ombudsman Service by visiting their website at https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/.

There are certain types of complaint which are outside the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction. Before you refer the matter to the Ombudsman you may wish to contact them on 0800 023 4567 to discuss your complaint. You can also visit the Financial Ombudsman Service website for more information. This includes details of how to make a complaint against the business and provides a questionnaire for you to complete