Transparency

Open Trustees Limited is a subsidiary company of the law firm, Osborne Clarke LLP. Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Transparency Rules require us to publish details of our complaints handling procedure. These details are set out below.

Please note however that if you have a complaint in relation to a specific pension scheme, this complaint must be brought under the scheme’s Internal Dispute Resolution Procedure (IDRP). A copy of the scheme specific IDRP can be provided on request to your usual scheme contact or by email at enquiries@opentrustees.com.

Open Trustees’ general complaints policy and procedures

 
Introduction
 
We at Open Trustees aim to provide a high quality service at all times. Sometimes a complaint will be made and when this happens we believe it is crucial that this is handled responsibly and with courtesy. It is our priority to preserve your goodwill, particularly if things have gone wrong.
 
We will treat any complaint with the utmost seriousness. Our policy is to listen carefully and involve you fully in the process of resolving the complaint. If you are unhappy about the outcome of our investigation into your complaint, you have a right of appeal to our Managing Director who will review the complaint in its entirety.
 

Who will handle your complaint?

 
We aim to have one contact for you to talk through your complaint and to remain your key contact throughout the complaints procedure. Any complaint received by a Secretary, Scheme Manager or Pensions Manager will be referred to a Director for investigation.
 

Your complaint

 
We will keep a record of your complaint both so that we can monitor the situation and, if appropriate, learn how our service can be improved.
 
If your complaint is considered by us to require notification to the Pensions Regulator (tPR) the necessary notification will be made by the Pensions Manager. We will comply with all requirements of tPR to help investigate and resolve any issues.
 

Remedies

 
If, upon investigation, we believe your complaint is justified, we will endeavour to offer a fair solution or compensation. If we do not feel that your complaint is justified, we will let you know why.
 

Appeal

 
If you are unhappy with our decision you should write to our Managing Director, within 5 working days of receiving our decision letter. He will review the decision and respond to you within 2 weeks of receiving your letter.
 

Timetable

 
The timetable we will follow in order to bring about a quick and satisfactory solution to your complaint is set out in the table below.

Further recourse to appeal

 
If you are dissatisfied with the way that we have handled your complaint or if you are concerned about our behaviour, the Solicitors Regulation Authority may be able to help you. The professional rules made by the SRA can be found at http://www.sra.org.uk/handbook/

If we cannot resolve your complaint you may be eligible for support from The Legal Ombudsman. They will look at your complaint independently and it will not affect how we handle your case. Details of eligibility are set out on their website. Before accepting a complaint for investigation, the Legal Ombudsman will check that you have tried to resolve your complaint with us first. If you have, then you must take your complaint to the Legal Ombudsman:

• Within six months of receiving a final response to your complaint and
• No more than six years from the date of act/omission; or
• No more than three years from when you should reasonably have known there was cause for complaint.

If you would like more information about the Legal Ombudsman, including eligibility criteria, please contact them.