PWM CLIENT COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE

The Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act (FAIS Act) requires that a financial service provider, like ourselves, must have a complaints procedure in place in the event that you, our valued client, complains about a financial service rendered by us.
This document not only provides a complaints procedure in conformance with legislative expectations, but it also explains the procedure should you wish to complain about any of the financial services rendered by our brokerage and sets out the process which our brokerage will follow in order to resolve the complaint.

Process

1. How to lodge a Complaint

1.1. If you as a client or prospective client have a complaint against our brokerage, it must be submitted to us in writing. It can be submitted either by hand, post, or email at the contact details that appear in this document.
1.2. You should provide sufficient detail of the complaint including policy number or investment number details.
1.3. We will keep a record of the complaint and maintain such record for 5 years as required by legislation.

2. Who will handle your Complaint?

2.1. Once your complaint has been received in writing, it will be allocated to and dealt with by adequately trained staff.
2.2. The person responsible for your complaint will furnish you with his/her contact details and the reference number of your complaint (if applicable).
2.3. Orelia Lubbe will have oversight over the complaints allocated to various personnel and you may direct any queries to her.

3. Receive and Classify

3.1. We will ensure that all potential issues are captured and classified for escalation, review and action as required.
3.2. Any complaint, issue or negative client interaction must be reduced to writing and must be logged and classified for action.
3.3. A third party acting on behalf of a complainant must deliver a certified or original consent or power of attorney to act on behalf of a complainant. Should such third party fail to deliver a consent or power of attorney, no further dealings will be pursued with such third party until the proper authority is obtained. The complaint will however be taken up directly with the complainant on whose behalf the complaint is made.
3.4. All complaints must be formally logged using the following system:
3.5. A complaint must be submitted in writing, no longer than 3 (three) years after the date that the complainant became aware of the complaint (or should have become aware of the complaint).

4. Acknowledge

4.1. All complaints will be acknowledged within 24 hours of receipt.
4.2. Where an acknowledgement is made telephonically it will be followed up with a written response by email.
4.3. A complaint reference number will be provided.
4.4. The details of the person allocated to the complaint will be provided to you within 48 hours from receipt.

5. Investigate

5.1. The investigation will be driven by analysing the root cause of the complaint to enable the complaint to be appropriately dealt with and to avoid, if possible, its reoccurrence.
5.2. This may require that both internal and external key facts are identified and clarified.
5.3. Should a complaint relate to product features or services handled solely by a product supplier, this matter will be escalated and appropriately dealt with in conjunction with the product supplier, ensuring that the matter is resolved to the satisfaction of the complainant.
5.4. All areas of interaction and communication will be documented and where appropriate, consent obtained from the complainant to ensure that no personal information is divulged or processed without the complainant’s knowledge or consent.
5.5. During the investigation process the complainant will be kept appropriately updated of the progress of the investigation.

6. Respond to Customer

6.1. The details of the findings and proposed resolution will be clearly explained (in writing or verbal form as appropriate) to you – within the agreed timescales.
6.2. Where a complaint cannot be addressed within three weeks by PWM, a written acknowledgment of the complaint, with contact details of the FAIS Ombud, will be sent to you.
6.3. If within six weeks of receipt of a complaint PWM has been unable to resolve the complaint to your satisfaction, you as the the complainant may:
• refer the complaint to the Office of the FAIS Ombud if he/she wishes to pursue the matter; and
• the complainant MUST do so within six months of receipt of such notification.

7. Follow up and Review

7.1. Complaints will be diarised to ensure it remains within the appropriate turnaround times.
7.2. Should a complaint exceed the turnaround time due to unforeseen and reasonable circumstances, the complainant will be kept appropriately informed of the reasons for the delay and a speedy resolve will continuously be sought.
7.3. A complainant will be kept appropriately informed throughout the complaints process of the resolution being sought.
7.4. Upon resolution of the complaint another follow-up will be conducted to ascertain whether the customer was satisfied with the complaints handling process and the resolution sought and whether the resolution was proper and fair.

IMPORTANT CONTACT DETAILS

PWM office:
Physical address: Waterfront Business Park Building 5, Unit 2A, 1 Pommern St. Humerail, Port Elizabeth, 6001
Telephone number: 041 582 3034
Email: orelia@pwmfb.co.za

FAIS Ombud
Postal Address
FAIS Ombud
P.O. Box 74571
Lynwood Ridge
0040
Telephone 012 762 5000 / 012 470 9080
Facsimile 086 764 1422 / 012 348 3447
E-mail info@faisombud.co.za
Website www.faisombud.co.za

Short Term Insurance Ombudsman
Postal Address
The Ombudsman for Short Term Insurance
P.O. Box 32334
Braamfontein
2017
Telephone 011 7268900
Facsimile 011 7265501
E-mail info@osti.co.za
Website www.osti.co.za