Customer Complaints Procedure T G Holdcroft Holdings Ltd and its subsidiaries

TGH prides itself on providing excellent customer care.

We developed our Customer Promises some years ago and provide all employees with training in its adherence and in customer satisfaction (The Holdcroft Way) and what to do on the rare occasions where we fail and receive a customer complaint

The Holdcroft Customer Promise

We commit to:

• be open and transparent
• take responsibility for our actions
• always consider the lifetime value of each customer in any transaction
• employ professional, well trained and knowledgeable people
• keep our promises
• a culture with values that put customers at ease in their purchasing journey
• respond quickly whenever and however you contact us
• always respect your time
• create an enjoyable relaxed atmosphere
• be consultative and to provide honest recommendations
• meet our corporate, social, community and environmental responsibilities

What is a complaint?

A complaint is any expression of dissatisfaction, whether oral or written, and whether justified or not, from or on behalf of an eligible complainant about the provision of, or failure to provide, a service or product.

We accept that there are times when we get it wrong and that you need to bring these times to our attention so that we can resolve your complaint quickly.

1. Complaints concerning sales or after sales

• In the first instance telephone the relevant department manager at the dealership (you can find contact details on the relevant dealership’s website);
• If they are unable to resolve your complaint, please put your complaint in writing (either by letter or e-mail) to the General Manager of the dealership;
• The General Manager will respond to your complaint within no more than 7 days;
• If you find the General Manager's response to be unsatisfactory, or they do not respond within the given timescales, please send a copy of your original complaint, together with any response you have received from the General Manager, to either: Customer Care, T G Holdcroft, Leek Road, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, ST1 6AD or customercare@holdcroft.com
• Customer Care will aim to respond within 14 days;
• We are confident that the above process will resolve your complaint to your satisfaction, but if you do not feel this is the case having exhausted the process, you are of course at liberty to take external advice or follow our Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) process by contacting The Motor Ombudsman.
• From October 2015, new regulations require traders, once they fail to resolve a dispute through their own customer service efforts, to advise the consumer of an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) body, relevant to their sector and the nature of the specific complaint.
• Alternative Dispute Resolution describes a range of processes that offer the parties an easier, quicker and more cost effective mechanism to resolve complaints when compared to the court process. It is generally accepted that consumers are more willing to use these processes than to use the court process. It is also accepted that these processes are much better at maintaining, or recovering, a positive relationship between the consumer and trader. The TGH chosen provider is The Motor Ombudsman.
• A customer can visit them at: www.themotorombudsman.org
• They can be contacted by email at: consumer@tmo-uk.org

Alternatively a customer can post a completed form (available on their website) to: The Motor Ombudsman, 71 Great Peter Street, London, SW1P 2BN

2. Complaints concerning Consumer Credit or General Insurance sales

Complaints concerning Consumer Credit or General Insurance sales can take a little longer to investigate and resolve than other complaints as they involve third party insurers.

Please put your complaint in writing by letter or e-mail to Customer Care (see above for details).

We will aim to acknowledge your complaint in writing within 5 working days;

We will endeavour to resolve our complaint as quickly as possible. Where your case is complex we may need some time to make sure we have covered everything, so we will keep you informed while we do so.

If you are not satisfied with our Final Response, or it has been more than eight weeks since we received your complaint, you may be able to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service. However, if the complaint is relating to a Discretionary Commission Arrangement (DCA), please be aware that on 11 January 2024 the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) introduced a pause to this for 37 weeks (until 25 September 2024).

The FCA Guidance can be found here. If you are not satisfied with our final response, you may have the right to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). Usually, you have six months from the date of the final response in which to do so, however for DCA complaints this has been extended to 15 months.

Details about how to contact the Financial Ombudsman can be found at www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk or by telephoning 0845 080 1800 (office hours).