welcome to r j s & associates
This policy explains how you can make a complaint, our measures for handling your complaint, and the steps you can take if you are not satisfied with our response to your complaint or the time that it takes for us to respond.
When we use the term “IDR”, we mean “internal dispute resolution”.
We acknowledge the importance of having an effective and efficient complaints handling and IDR framework, and we adopt a customer-focused approach. While we acknowledge your right to make a complaint, we expect that you will treat our staff with respect when they are dealing with your complaint.
The purpose of this Complaints Policy is to set out the information required to be in a Complaints policy by ASIC Corporations, Credit and Superannuation (Internal Dispute Resolution) Instrument 2020/98 (“the Instrument”). The Instrument is a legislative instrument made by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (“ASIC”).
We adopted the current version of this Complaints Policy on 5th October 2021.
A complaint is:
“An expression of dissatisfaction made to or about us; related to our products, services, staff or our handling of a complaint, where a response or resolution is explicitly or implicitly expected or legally required”.
You can make a complaint to us in any of the following ways:
☎Telephone
✉Writing
⌨Social Media
👥In PersonAt any of our office locations
When making your complaint please tell us:
If you need help to make or manage your complaint, you can appoint someone (for example, a relative or friend) to represent you. Please note that we will need your authority to speak to any representative that you appoint.
We can also arrange an interpreter for you if required, and help you to fill out forms or express your complaint.
Acknowledgement
We will acknowledge receipt of your complaint and try to resolve it as quickly as possible.
Generally, where your complaint is made:
When acknowledging your complaint, we will also have regard to any preferences you have communicated to us in relation to the way in which you wish for us to communicate with you.
Investigation of your complaint
If we cannot resolve your complaint immediately, we will need some time to investigate your concerns.
We may also request that you provide us with further information to assist with our investigation.
IDR Response
We will provide you with our written reasons for the outcome of your complaint (“IDR Response”) within the following timeframes where:
Standard complaintsNo later than 30 calendar days after receiving your complaintTraditional trustee complaintsNo later than 45 calendar days after receiving your complaint[i]Superannuation trustee complaints, except for complaints about death benefit distributionsNo later than 45 calendar days after receiving your complaintComplaints about superannuation death benefitsNo later than 90 calendar days after the expiry of the 28-calendar day period for objecting to a proposed death benefit distribution referred to in section 1056(2)(a) of the Act[ii]
Our IDR Response will also inform you of your right to escalate your complaint the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA). AFCA offers a free and independent dispute resolution for financial complaints to individuals and small businesses.
If we reject your complaint (whether in full or in part), our IDR Response will:
We are not required to provide you with an IDR Response if:
Delay in providing an IDR Response
If we are not able to provide our IDR Response to you on time because your complaint is complex or because of circumstances beyond our control, we will write to you to explain the reasons for the delay, and inform you of your right to complain to AFCA and provide you with AFCA’s contact details.
If you are not satisfied with our response to your complaint, you can escalate your complaint to AFCA.
AFCA
We are required to be a member of an external dispute resolution scheme. Accordingly, we are a member of AFCA and our membership number is 42734.
You can contact AFCA using the following details:
For more information on our services, CLICK HERE.
We’ve put together some resources to assist you: