Complaints Handling Procedure

1. Our Commitment

It is the aim of Mercury Vehicle Solutions Ltd t/a carleasing-online.co.uk to provide a very high standard of service to every client. It is important to us that all complaints are resolved as quickly as possible and to the complete satisfaction of our clients.

This procedure explains how we will deal with any complaints, the timescales we will follow, and what you can do if you are not satisfied with our final response. Our complaints handling procedure aligns with the FCA’s Dispute Resolution rules (DISP 1.5 and DISP 1.6) and the BVRLA Code of Conduct.

2. How to Make a Complaint

If you have a complaint about any aspect of our service, we want to hear from you. To help us investigate and resolve your complaint as quickly as possible, please contact us using one of the methods below. Where possible, please include your customer reference, the name of the person you have been dealing with, and a clear summary of your concern.

Important: the contact email shown on the Financial Services Register and the contact email within this Complaints Policy are kept aligned so customers can be confident the address is correct.

3. How We Will Handle Your Complaint

We aim to resolve complaints quickly and without escalation wherever possible. The timescales below set out the maximum periods we will work to, in line with FCA DISP rules.

• Acknowledgement: We will send you a written acknowledgement within 5 business days of receiving your complaint (DISP 1.5). Where your complaint is resolved by the close of the next business day, a written acknowledgement may not be required, but we will keep our records.
• Investigation and updates: A senior, suitably-experienced member of staff who has not been directly involved in the matter will investigate your complaint. We will keep you informed of the progress of our investigation in writing.
• Holding response: If we are not in a position to issue our final response within 4 weeks of receiving your complaint, we will write to you to explain why and tell you when we expect to provide our final response (DISP 1.6).
• Final response: We will issue our final response in writing within 8 weeks of receiving your complaint (DISP 1.6). The final response will summarise our findings, any remedial action we propose, and your right to refer the matter elsewhere if you are not satisfied.

4. If You Are Not Satisfied with Our Final Response

If you are not satisfied with our final response — or we have not provided one within 8 weeks of receiving your complaint — you have the right to refer the matter to one or more of the following independent bodies. These services are free of charge to customers.

BVRLA Conciliation Service

We are a member of the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA), Membership No. 2237. The BVRLA operates a free, impartial conciliation service for unresolved complaints relating to leasing brokers. You can refer your complaint to the BVRLA at:

Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS)

If you have a regulated contract with us and are not satisfied with our final response, you may be eligible to refer the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service. You must do this within six months of the date of our final response. When we send you our final response, we will also provide you with a copy of the Financial Ombudsman Service’s explanatory leaflet.

5. Our Internal Records and Oversight

All complaints are recorded on our Complaints Register. We undertake root-cause analysis to identify trends, themes and any systemic issues. Complaints management information is reviewed monthly by our Compliance Oversight (SMF16) function and is reported to the Board on a quarterly basis. This forms part of our wider Compliance Monitoring Plan.

6. Questions About This Policy

If you have any questions about this Complaints Handling Policy, please contact us in writing at the address above, or by email to [email protected].