Our service standards

Our service standards

Our commitment to you, our client, is to achieve the highest level of service standards and to do our best to make your experience with us as enjoyable as possible.

The Directors actively provide leadership that stresses the importance of compliance with the fundamental principles of corporate responsibility.

Integrity

We will be straightforward and honest in all professional and business relationships, with documented policies and procedures to implement and monitor quality control of engagements.

Objectivity

We will not allow bias, conflict of interest or undue influence of others to override professional or business judgements.

Professional competence and due care

We have a continuing duty to maintain professional knowledge and skill at the level required by our regulators and to ensure that you receive competent professional service based on current developments in practice, legislation and techniques. We will ensure all our staff receive regular training and mentoring so they can offer the very best levels of service to you.

We will act diligently and in accordance with applicable technical and professional standards when providing professional services.

Confidentiality

We will respect the confidentiality of information acquired as a result of professional and business relationships and will not disclose any such information to third parties without proper and specific authority unless there is a legal or professional right or duty to disclose.

Professional behaviour

We will comply with relevant laws and regulations and will avoid any action which discredits the profession. We will conduct ourselves with courtesy and consideration towards everyone we come into contact with when performing our work.

Timeliness and efficiency

We aim to complete all our assignments efficiently and effectively. We will provide details of our relevant policies, including any changes to them, to all clients, in respect of our engagements.

Our commitment to clients

We undertake to update you as is reasonably required on the progress of your case.

Telephone calls

If you telephone during office hours:

• we try to answer all calls promptly, normally within 3 rings
• if the person you want to speak to is not available, another team member will take a message or deal with your enquiry if it is a simple one. If that person cannot answer your question, you will receive a call-back within 1 business day. If, for any reason, we cannot do this, you will be told why and when you will receive a response

If you contact us through the website, by letter, e-mail or by telephone, we will acknowledge within 1 business day and provide a full response within 5 business days of receipt. If a full response is going to take longer, we will keep you up to date with progress and as a minimum, an update will be provided every 5 business days.

If the team member responsible for the case you are asking about is on holiday or other leave, another team member will deal with any urgent matters. Otherwise, the team member will respond on his/her return to work.

We will use plain and jargon free language in all our responses.

Visitors to our office

The office is open every Monday to Friday, except public holidays.

If you visit our office, you can expect:

• to be treated with courtesy
• to be seen on time if you have made an appointment in advance
• to be seen in a private room for any appointment made in advance
• if you have not made an appointment, someone will see you within 15 minutes of your arrival and attempt to deal with your enquiry or make an appointment. We cannot guarantee that you will be able to see the person dealing with your case if you have not made an appointment nor can we guarantee that a private room will be available

Our office is accessible for people with mobility difficulties. We are sorry but our office does not have induction loop facilities.

Complaints

If you are unhappy with our advice or any aspect of our services, we encourage you to contact us as soon as possible. We will commit to:

• doing all we can to resolve your concerns within 3 business days. If we can’t do this, we will acknowledge your complaint within 5 business days
• investigating the background to your complaint
• asking you for additional information in certain circumstances
• keeping you informed of the progress of your complaint
• providing a final response letter within 8 weeks

If for any reason we cannot respond within that time frame, you will be told why and when you should expect a response, informing you that you may refer your case to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) if you are dissatisfied with the delay.

If you remain dissatisfied with our final response, you may refer your complaint to the FOS within 6 months of the date of our final response letter.

If we have made a mistake, it will be rectified and you will receive an apology. Sometimes, people complain because they do not have a complete understanding of the law governing our work. If this is the case, we will provide a clear explanation of the matters affecting our duties.

What we expect from you

Communication – please keep us up to date with any changes or key decisions to your business or personal circumstances so we can give you the best advice all year round.

Questions – We like to be asked questions by our clients (even if you are worried they are daft!). If we don’t know the answer we will find out.

Courtesy – We request that you treat our team professionally, fairly and with courtesy.

Honesty – We ask you to be honest and open with us when providing information so we can give you the very best advice at all times.

Feedback – If you have any feedback, good or bad, we’d love to hear it. Your comments shape our business and we use them to improve the things that matter most to you.

Introductions – If you are delighted with our service, please don’t keep it a secret! The biggest compliment you can give us is to introduce a friend or business associate who could benefit from our service.