Insolvency Practitioners Association Complaints Policy – Products and Services
Introduction
The Insolvency Practitioners Association (IPA) is a not-for-profit Company limited by Guarantee. It is a membership organisation that is a Recognised Professional Body for regulating Insolvency Practitioners (IPs) that are licensed by the IPA, and an Anti-Money Laundering supervisor for nominated Firms. The IPA’s primary purpose is to assist in protecting the public by ensuring that Insolvency Professionals meet high standards and to take action when risks are identified.
This policy details how to complain about products and services provided by the IPA, and how we will deal with your complaint when it has been received.
We are committed to providing a high standard of service, dealing with everyone in a way that is professional, fair, transparent and free from discrimination.
For the purposes of this policy, the term ‘Service Complainant’ refers to anyone making a complaint about a product or service provided by the IPA. For any complaints in relation to the action or behaviour of a member, please refer to the guidance detailed in our website or click on the following link: Make a Complaint | Insolvency Practitioners Association (insolvency-practitioners.org.uk)
While we work hard to provide high standard products and services to our members and the public, we recognise that sometimes a Service Complainant may feel they did not receive as good a service from the IPA as they expected, or that the product provided did not meet the standard they were expecting.
Our standards for dealing with Products and Services Complaints
We will treat Service Complainants properly, fairly and impartially.
We will ascertain the relevant facts and explain what has happened, making a correction wherever appropriate. We will use our best endeavours to comply with the timescales set out below.
Products and Service Complaints Procedure
If a Service Complainant is dissatisfied with any aspect of the IPA service, they should initially email or verbally raise this with the person they are dealing with who will attempt to resolve the matter informally.
If no resolution has been achieved, the Service Complainant may submit their complaint to the IPA in writing at Complaints@ipa.uk.com. If a Service Complainant has no access to email, their written complaint should be sent to “IPA Product and Service Complaints” at our postal address which can be obtained via our website through the following link: Contact Us
The matter will then be considered in four stages as follows:
Stage 1 (Acknowledgement)
The IPA will record the Product or Service Complaint in a central register and will send an acknowledgment email within 5 working days of receipt enclosing a copy of this policy which will advise the name of the person who will investigate the complaint.
Stage 2 (Investigation and Conclusion)
The details of the complaint will be passed to the relevant person to investigate and determine any actions required. That person will be responsible for replying to the Service Complainant within a further 20 working days of receipt (i.e. a maximum of 20 working days from original receipt). This response will outline the investigation and conclusion.
If we are unable to provide a conclusion at this stage, we will write to you and provide an update on how long our investigations are expected to continue.
Stage 3 (Escalation)
If the Service Complainant remains dissatisfied with the IPA’s conclusion, they have the opportunity to respond within 10 working days from the date the IPA issued the conclusion requesting a review by a senior manager. Their request must set out the grounds for disagreeing with the conclusion and must contain evidence in support where appropriate. The request should be submitted to Complaints@ipa.uk.com and the IPA will update the complaint status on the IPA Products and Services Complaints register.
The complaint will then be forwarded to an appropriate senior manager for further investigation within 5 working days of receipt of the escalated complaint. The senior manager will complete their investigation and send a written response to the Service Complainant within a further 20 working days.
Stage 4 (Chief Executive review and final response)
If the Service Complainant remains dissatisfied , they have the opportunity to write to the IPA Chief Executive Officer at ChiefExecutive@ipa.uk.com who will review the previous investigations and determine the best course of action to seek to bring a resolution to the complaint. This response will be sent within a further 20 working days of receipt of the complaint by the Chief Executive and will represent the final response on behalf of the IPA
If, having received the final response, the Service Complainant remains dissatisfied with the outcome to their complaint they should seek independent advice on any further action they may wish to take.