13. Internal complaints procedures by Debt Management Companies (DMC’s)

If members have been unable to address any concerns customers have informally then they must have a formal complaint process in place to deal with them promptly, effectively and in a positive manner, as outlined below:

• Acknowledge the complaint in writing within 5 working days of receipt.
• Investigate the complaint fully and send a response to you within 10 working days of receipt of your complaint. (If the member is unable to provide the customer with a response within this time they must send the customer an update, including a time by which response will be sent)
• If a customer is unhappy with the response the member must have a complaint appeals person in place who will review your case and send a further response to you within 10 working days of receipt of the escalated complaint. (If the member is unable to provide the customer with a response within this time they must send the customer an update, including a time by which response will be sent)
• If more than 8 weeks have passed from the date of the initial complaint and the customer hasn’t received the final response, or the are still dissatisfied with the final response the customer has the right to refer this to DMAI (within 6 months of the final response being issued):