Complaints Handling Procedure

2. What Constitutes a Complaint

A complaint is any oral or written expression of dissatisfaction, whether justified or not, from, or on behalf of, a person about Scaffold Finance’s provision of, or failure to provide, a financial service or product, which alleges that the complainant has suffered (or may suffer) financial loss, material distress or material inconvenience.

A complaint may be received by any means including telephone, email, letter or via Scaffold Finance’s website contact form. All such expressions of dissatisfaction will be treated as complaints under this procedure, regardless of the channel through which they are received.

For the avoidance of doubt, the following are examples of matters that may give rise to a complaint:

• Dissatisfaction with the outcome of a finance application
• Concerns about the time taken to process or conclude an application
• A belief that Scaffold Finance’s advice, guidance or recommendation was incorrect or unsuitable
• Concerns about how the client’s information was handled or communicated to lenders
• Any perceived failure in Scaffold Finance’s duty of care or standard of service

3. Who Can Complain

Scaffold Finance deals exclusively with unregulated businesses. However, the FCA defines “eligible complainants” as including not only consumers but also certain smaller businesses and guarantors. As a result, some of Scaffold Finance’s clients may have the right to refer an unresolved complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).
An eligible complainant includes, among others:

• A consumer: an individual acting for purposes outside their trade, business or profession
• A micro-enterprise: a business employing fewer than 10 persons with an annual turnover or balance sheet total not exceeding €2 million
• A small business: an enterprise that is not a micro-enterprise, has an annual turnover of less than £6.5 million, and either employs fewer than 50 persons or has a balance sheet total of less than £5 million
• A guarantor: a person who has given a guarantee or security in respect of an obligation or liability of another person, where that person’s agreement was with Scaffold Finance or a lender introduced by it

Many of Scaffold Finance’s clients — particularly small limited companies and partnerships in the scaffolding sector — are likely to fall within these definitions and therefore have access to the FOS. Scaffold Finance will not seek to restrict or discourage any client from exercising their right to refer a complaint to the FOS where they are entitled to do so.

Clients who do not meet the definition of an eligible complainant (e.g. larger limited companies, PLCs or LLPs) will still have their complaints handled fully in accordance with this procedure, but will not have access to the FOS.

4. How to Make a Complaint

Complaints may be submitted by any of the following means:

• By email: complaints@scaffoldfinance.co.uk
• By post: Carl Redding, Managing Director
  First Leasing UK Limited t/a Scaffold Finance
  19 Langford Gardens, Grantham, Lincolnshire, NG31 8DW
• By phone: 01494 321688

To help Scaffold Finance investigate and resolve the complaint as quickly as possible, clients are asked to provide the following information when submitting a complaint:

• Full name and contact details
• The nature of the complaint and a clear description of what went wrong
• The relevant dates and any reference numbers (e.g. deal reference, application number)
• Copies of any correspondence or documentation relevant to the complaint
• The outcome the client is seeking

6. The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS)

Where a complainant is an “eligible complainant” (see Section 3) and their complaint has not been resolved to their satisfaction following Scaffold Finance’s Final Response, they have the right to refer their complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) free of charge.

The FOS is an independent service set up by law to resolve disputes between consumers and businesses providing financial services. The FOS can be contacted as follows:

Financial Ombudsman Service
Exchange Tower, London, E14 9SR

• Telephone: 0800 023 4567 (free from landlines)
• Telephone: 0300 123 9123 (free from mobiles)
• Email: complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org.uk
• Website: www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk

A complaint must ordinarily be referred to the FOS within six months of the date of Scaffold Finance’s Final Response. The right to refer to the FOS will be confirmed in all Final Response letters issued to eligible complainants.

7. Complaints Register

Scaffold Finance maintains a Complaints Register within its CRM system, in which all complaints — including informal expressions of dissatisfaction — are recorded. Each entry will capture the following information as a minimum:

• Date the complaint was received
• Name and contact details of the complainant
• Nature and summary of the complaint
• Date of acknowledgement
• Name of the person handling the complaint
• Summary of investigation findings
• Outcome: upheld, partially upheld or rejected
• Any redress or remedy offered
• Date of Final Response
• Whether the complaint was referred to the FOS

The Complaints Register will be reviewed periodically to identify any recurring issues or systemic failures that may indicate a need to improve processes or client communications. Complaint data will be retained for a minimum of five (5) years.

8. Confidentiality

All complaint information will be handled in strict confidence and in accordance with Scaffold Finance’s Privacy Notice and Internal Data Protection Policy. Complaint details will only be shared with those directly involved in the investigation and resolution of the complaint, including, where necessary, WestWon Limited in their capacity as Scaffold Finance’s principal.

9. Remuneration Disclosure

Scaffold Finance does not charge a broker fee to clients. Scaffold Finance receives commission from lenders upon successful completion of finance arrangements. This remuneration does not affect the impartiality of Scaffold Finance’s service or the suitability of the finance arranged on a client’s behalf.

Where a client wishes to understand more about Scaffold Finance’s remuneration arrangements, they may request further information at any time by contacting Carl Redding directly.

10. Review of This Procedure

This procedure will be reviewed annually, or sooner in the event of:

• A change in FCA rules or guidance relating to complaints handling
• A recommendation from WestWon Limited or the NACFB Compliance team
• A complaint outcome that reveals a gap or weakness in this procedure

The next scheduled review date is March 2027.