Making a formal complaint
As a regulated RICS firm we have in place a Complaints Handling Procedure to enable you to escalate issues or concerns that you have been unable to resolve. We will endeavour to assess the facts fairly and our goal is to find an amicable solution for all parties. If you are not happy with our final response however, you will have the opportunity to have your complaint reviewed and considered by an independent redress provider.
We do not want you to be unhappy and would therefore always encourage you to raise any concerns with your local office at the earliest opportunity. This helps us improve our relationship with you and often enables issues to be addressed swiftly to everyone’s mutual satisfaction.
Please note formal complaints should be submitted within 12 months from the date that the incident occurred or completion of service, whichever is the sooner. The complaint will be considered time barred if received after this date.
Your formal complaint
You may escalate your concerns by writing to us. We ask that you put your complaint in writing to make sure that we have a full understanding of the reasons for your complaint.
You can email us at Complaints@carterjonas.co.uk
or write to us at,
Carter Jonas Complaints,
51 Northbrook Street,
Newbury
RG14 1DT
Please provide as much detail as possible including:
- the office you have been in contact with,
- what service we were providing,
- where you consider we have failed to meet expected standards, and
- what solution you would ideally like to achieve.
We will acknowledge receipt of your complaint within 3 working days.
Assessing your complaint
We will investigate the circumstances of your complaint including contacting the local office and we will provide a summary of our findings within 15 working days of the acknowledgement.
If you are still not satisfied, you may contact us again and we will have a further 15 working days to provide a Final Response.
Independent review
If you are still not satisfied when you have received our Final Response, or 8 weeks has elapsed since you first wrote to us, you can choose to take your complaint to an independent redress provider, as listed below.
There are different providers depending on who you are and the type of service your complaint relates to; we will advise in our Final Response which redress scheme is appropriate.
Our formal complaints procedure will not apply if:
- your complaint is time barred,
- the dispute is between landlords and tenants,
- the issue relates to an end of tenancy deposit dispute. There are different tenancy deposit schemes, and we will advise you of the appropriate process if a dispute arises,
- your concerns relate to legal or regulatory obligations including but not limited to matters arising in relation to Data Protection and Anti-Money Laundering. These matters will be considered but are outside this complaint’s procedure,
- you disagree with a statement or opinion where Carter Jonas is acting in the capacity of an Expert Witness.
Outstanding monies
You should be aware that if you have any fees or payments outstanding (including rent) these will remain due. In the event monies are due and you are in dispute with us The Property Ombudsman (TPOS) advises that you make payment on a “without prejudice” basis which means the payment cannot be used as evidence should the dispute proceed to Court.
We hope it will not be necessary, but we would remind you that we will be entitled to follow our normal procedures for collecting any outstanding monies due including where appropriate applying interest charges or initiating Court proceedings.
