Complaints Procedure

Any complaint, whether made verbally or in writing, is referred to our complaints manager at the earliest opportunity, or to a member of senior management if the complaints manager is unavailable.

Complaints manager: Hassan Abdalla
Telephone: 03305 202053
Email: complaints@rest-solar.com

When we receive a complaint, we will:

• acknowledge the complaint in writing promptly;
• record the details on our system;
• make contact to seek clarification on any points where necessary;
• fully investigate the complaint;
• keep you informed of our progress;
• discuss our findings and proposed response with you;
• ensure our firm partners have a compliant complaints procedure and are communicating with their customer using it;
• provide clear deadlines for a response.

You will receive contact from us advising on progress if we cannot respond immediately. We will provide our final response as soon as possible and no later than eight weeks after the complaint was made.

Customers may express dissatisfaction to REST about our products and services. We will establish whether the complaint relates to the information given, the firm, or the service and installation. If this is unclear, it will not delay our investigation and we will proceed with our own review. Our complaints manager will take the complaint to the relevant firm for them to investigate and provide a written explanation and any supporting information, which may include photos, checklists or remedial-satisfaction notes.

Our complaints manager will establish the nature and scope of the complaint with due regard to the Financial Conduct Authority's direction to:

• deal with complaints promptly and fairly;
• give complainants clear replies and, where appropriate, fair redress.

We may take up to eight weeks to provide a response.

It is our policy to treat all complainants the same. However, eligible complainants are legally defined and have additional rights in law that we must acknowledge and adhere to.

The Financial Conduct Authority's complaints rules apply to complaints:

• made by, or on behalf of, an eligible complainant;
• relating to a regulated activity;
• involving an allegation that the complainant has suffered, or may suffer, financial loss, material distress or material inconvenience.

Our final response sets out clearly our decision and the reasons for it. If any compensation is offered, a clear method of calculation will be shown.

Where a final response deals with an eligible complainant and a regulated activity, it will include details of HIES, our dispute resolution provider. We will:

• explain that the complainant must refer the matter to HIES within six months of the date of the final response letter, or the right to use this service is lost;
• indicate whether or not we consent to waive the relevant time limits.

Complaints that can be settled to the customer's satisfaction within 28 days can be recorded and communicated differently. Where we consider a complaint resolved to the customer's satisfaction under this section, we will promptly send written confirmation which:

• refers to the fact that the customer has made a complaint and informs them that we now consider it resolved to their satisfaction;
• tells the customer that if they subsequently decide they are dissatisfied with the resolution, they may refer the complaint back to us for further consideration, or to HIES;
• provides the website address of HIES;
• refers to the availability of further information on the HIES website.

In addition to this written confirmation, we may also use other methods to communicate this information where we consider doing so may better meet the customer's needs, or where another method has already been used to discuss the complaint, including recorded calls, emails or text messages.

We consider a complaint closed once we have provided our final response to the customer. This does not prevent a customer from exercising any rights they may have to refer the matter to HIES.

We co-operate fully with HIES in resolving any complaints made against us and agree to be bound by any awards it makes. We undertake to pay promptly any fees levied by HIES.

You have the right to refer your complaint to HIES, free of charge, but you must do so within six months of the date of our final response letter. If you do not refer your complaint in time, HIES will not have our permission to consider it, and will only be able to do so in very limited circumstances, for example if it believes the delay resulted from exceptional circumstances.

HIES
Solutions House, Chorley Business & Technology Centre, Euxton Lane, Chorley, PR7 6TE

Telephone: 0344 324 5242 (Monday to Friday, 9:00am–4:30pm)
Email: info@hies.org.uk
Website: www.hies.org.uk