Complaints Procedure

Pinpoint Finance is a trading style of Pinpoint Commercial Finance Ltd, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, number 733225. We are registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office under registration number ZA146757.

1. About this Complaints Procedure

We work hard to give you good service, and most of our clients are happy with the advice and support we provide. Sometimes, however, things go wrong. When they do, we want to know about it so we can put things right and learn from what happened.

This Complaints Procedure explains what counts as a complaint, how to make one, what we will do when we receive it, and your right to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service if you are not happy with our response.

This policy operates alongside our Customer Privacy Notice and is governed by the Financial Conduct Authority’s Dispute Resolution rules (DISP), the Consumer Duty (PRIN 2A), and the wider rules of the Financial Conduct Authority.

2. What we mean by a complaint

The Financial Conduct Authority defines a complaint as any expression of dissatisfaction – whether spoken or written, and whether justified or not – about the service we have provided or failed to provide.

We treat every concern seriously. A complaint can be:

• made in writing or verbally, including by email, telephone, letter, web form or social media
• raised by you directly or by someone acting on your behalf
• about any part of our service – advice we gave, fees we charged, delays, communication, third parties involved in your case, or anything else

You do not need to use the word “complaint” for us to treat your concern as one. If you tell us you are unhappy, we will record it and investigate.

3. How to make a complaint

You can make a complaint in whatever way feels most comfortable for you. To help us look into matters as quickly as possible, please tell us:

• your name and the best way to contact you
• what has happened and when
• any reference numbers or names of advisers involved
• what outcome you are looking for

We will treat your complaint sensitively and confidentially. Making a complaint will never affect the service or advice you receive from us.

4. What happens when we receive your complaint

When you contact us, we will:

• log your complaint immediately and acknowledge it, normally within one business day
• confirm the name of the person handling it and how to reach them
• explain the next steps and how long things are likely to take

Our Managing Director has overall responsibility for complaints handling. Day-to-day investigation is carried out by our Complaints Officer, with regulatory oversight from our Compliance Support function.

We will look at your complaint fairly and independently. That includes reviewing your file, listening to call recordings where relevant, speaking to the staff involved, and assessing what happened against our regulatory duties – in particular the Consumer Duty obligation to deliver good outcomes.

5. How long it takes us to respond

5.1 Within three business days

If we are able to resolve your complaint by the end of the third business day after we receive it, we will send you a Summary Resolution Communication. This will:

• confirm that we consider your complaint resolved
• explain the outcome and any action we have taken
• set out your right to refer the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service if you are still not satisfied

5.2 If we need longer

If we cannot resolve your complaint within three business days, we will carry out a full investigation and write to you with a Final Response within eight weeks of receiving your complaint.

If for any reason we are unable to send our Final Response within eight weeks, we will write to explain why, tell you when we expect to be able to respond, and remind you of your right to refer the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

6. What our Final Response will tell you

Our Final Response will set out, clearly and in plain English:

• what we investigated and the evidence we considered
• whether we have upheld, partially upheld or not upheld your complaint, and why
• any remedial action we are taking, including any redress (financial or otherwise)
• your right to refer the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service if you remain dissatisfied, including the deadline by which you must do so

7. Support if you are in vulnerable circumstances

We recognise that some of our clients may be in vulnerable circumstances at the time they raise a complaint – for example because of ill health, bereavement, financial difficulty, a major life event, or because they find dealing with formal processes especially stressful.

Where we identify that you may be vulnerable, we will:

• make reasonable adjustments to the way we communicate with you
• allow additional time where you need it
• offer to involve a friend, family member or representative of your choice
• record your circumstances sensitively, on a need-to-know basis, so we can give you appropriate support throughout

Please tell us at any point if you would like extra support or a different way of communicating, and we will do our best to accommodate it.

8. Referring your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service

If you are not satisfied with our Final Response, or if eight weeks have passed since you complained without us issuing a Final Response, you have the right to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service. The Ombudsman is a free, independent service for resolving disputes between consumers and financial services firms.

You normally have six months from the date of our Final Response to refer your complaint to the Ombudsman. We will remind you of this deadline in our response.

If your complaint is referred to the Ombudsman, we will cooperate fully, provide information promptly, and implement any award or settlement they direct without delay.

9. National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers (NACFB)

Pinpoint Commercial Finance Limited is a member of the NACFB (Membership Number 23362) and operates in accordance with the NACFB Code of Practice. A copy of the Code is available on request, on the NACFB website at www.nacfb.org, or by clicking here.

If you believe we have failed to meet the standards set out in the NACFB Code, you may raise the matter with the NACFB directly. The NACFB process is separate from, and does not replace, your right to refer a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

10. How we learn from complaints

Every complaint we receive is reviewed to identify the underlying cause and any wider lessons. We look for:

• one-off issues that need to be put right for you
• any pattern that suggests a process or training improvement is needed
• themes that should be reported to senior management or the Financial Conduct Authority under our Consumer Duty obligations

Where we identify something that needs to change, we make the change – and where appropriate, we will tell you what we have done as a result of the issue you raised.

11. How to contact us about a complaint

If you would like to make a complaint or speak to us about an existing complaint, please contact us:

For data protection or privacy questions, please see our Customer Privacy Notice.

12. Changes to this procedure

We review this Complaints Procedure at least annually and following any material change to our business or the rules that apply to us. This is our current version – a copy can be provided on request.