Legal
Complaints Procedure
If we have got something wrong, we want to know. Here is exactly who to complain to, how, and what happens next.
There are two different complaints here, and they go to two different places. Complaints about the advice you were given go to the adviser firm. Complaints about our service, the introduction, this website, or how we handled your data, come to us.
Which is it?
Where to send your complaint
| Your complaint is about… | Complain to | Then escalate to |
|---|---|---|
| The advice you received, a product recommended, fees you were charged by the adviser | The adviser firm, in writing. They are FCA-regulated and must have a formal complaints procedure. | The Financial Ombudsman Service, if you are unhappy with their final response or they do not reply within eight weeks. |
| The introduction itself, this website, our content, or how we handled your personal data | Vetted Wealth, see below. | The Information Commissioner’s Office for data-protection matters. |
We are not the adviser
Vetted Wealth introduces you to an independently vetted, FCA-regulated firm. That firm gives the advice, holds the client relationship, and carries the regulatory responsibility for it. We cannot investigate, overturn or compensate for advice we did not give, but we do want to know if a firm we introduced has let you down, because it affects whether they stay in our network.
Complaining to us
Email us at support@vettedwealth.co.uk, marking your message “Complaint”. It helps if you tell us:
- Your name and how to reach you
- What happened, and roughly when
- Which adviser firm was involved, if any
- What you would like us to do about it
We acknowledge within 3 working days
You will get a written acknowledgement telling you who is handling your complaint.
We investigate
We look at our records, including the enquiry you submitted and what we sent to the adviser, and we ask the firm for their account where relevant.
We respond within 8 weeks
You receive a final response setting out what we found, what we are doing about it, and what to do if you disagree. Most complaints are resolved far sooner.
If you are still unhappy
We tell you, in that final response, exactly which body you can escalate to and by when.
Escalating a complaint about advice
If you have complained to the adviser firm and are unhappy with their final response, or they have not replied within eight weeks, you can refer the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service. It is free, independent, and its decision binds the firm if you accept it. You normally have six months from the firm’s final response to refer it.
If an FCA-regulated firm has failed and cannot pay compensation it owes you, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme may be able to. Limits and eligibility depend on the type of business. Both bodies publish their contact details and eligibility rules on their own websites.
Complaints about your data
If your complaint concerns how we collected, stored, shared or deleted your personal information, tell us first: we will investigate under this procedure. You also have the right, at any time, to complain directly to the Information Commissioner’s Office. Our privacy policy explains what we hold and how to have it corrected or erased.
What a complaint does to a firm in our network
Complaints history is one of the four things we check before we introduce anyone, and we keep checking. A complaint about a firm we introduced is logged against that firm, investigated, and taken into account when we review whether they remain in the network. We would rather lose a partner than send the next person to a firm that treats people badly. You can read the whole standard on how we vet advisers.
The short version
- Advice complaints → the adviser firm → the Financial Ombudsman Service.
- Service, website or data complaints → us → the ICO for data matters.
- We acknowledge in 3 working days and respond within 8 weeks.
- Complaints feed back into whether a firm stays in our network.