Complaints procedure

Our complaints process

We are committed to providing a professional, supportive and confidential service to all those who seek our help. We aim to ‘get it right first time’ but we are aware that mistakes can sometimes happen.

If you are not happy with the service you have received, we are genuinely keen to hear from you. This will not only allow us to try and resolve your problem, it will also help us avoid it happening again.

How to complain

Unfortunately, we are unable to accept post at this time due to our office being closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, you can contact us by emailing us at this address:

complaints@moneyadvicetrust.org

Or phone us on freephone 0808 808 4000.

It would be helpful if you could let us know the following.

• What went wrong.
• When it happened.
• Who you dealt with.
• What you think we should do to make things right.
• You full name, address, email address and telephone number. You may wish to use our complaint form to help you make your complaint. You can find this at the end of this information sheet.

How we handle complaints

• We will always try and resolve a problem at the time you raise it with us.
• If we need more time to look into your complaint, we will send you an acknowledgement within five working days and tell you when we expect to contact you again. We will also attach a copy of this procedure.
• We would expect in nearly all cases to send an email explaining our response to your complaint within10 working days. If we can’t do this, we will send you an update.
• Our aim is to send a final response within eight weeks of receiving a complaint. If this isn’t possible, we will email you to explain why and tell you when we will respond.

What to do if we cannot reach an agreement

If we take more than eight weeks to send a final response, or you don’t think we have resolved your complaint, you can contact the Financial Ombudsman Service by email or phone. You can also contact them by post, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic there will be a delay in them processing and responding to your letter. If you can call or use their online form, do this instead.

Phone: 0800 023 4567 or 0300 123 9123.

Email: complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org.uk

Website: www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk

You must refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service within six months of the date of our final response.

National Debtline Complaints form

Use this form to make a complaint about National Debtline, including our online services. When you have completed the form, please email it to:

DPO@moneyadvicetrust.org

Please tell us the following.

• What went wrong (please attach copies of any relevant documents).

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

• When it happened.

• Who you dealt with.

• What you would like us to do now.

Your name:

Your postal address:

Your email address:

Your telephone number: