Complaints procedure in relation to credit providers
Complaints procedure in relation to credit providers under the Financial Services (Consumer Credit) Act
Under the Financial Services (Consumer Credit) Act (the Act), the GFSC’s Chief Executive Officer has been appointed as Director for the purposes of the Act.
Section 29 of the Act, states that any dispute between parties to an agreement applicable under the Act may be put to the Director for resolution. To this end, where a person is unhappy with the services provided by a credit provider under the Act he or she should, in the first instance, instigate the formal complaints procedure of that firm.
If a complainant remains dissatisfied and believes that (s)he has a case then a complaint may be submitted to the GFSC with regard to credit providers' alleged infringements of the requirements of the Act.
Anyone contemplating legal action should consider taking legal advice at an early stage.
Who can complain?
Customers of credit providers and other interested parties, including credit intermediaries, may submit complaints to the GFSC with regard to credit providers’ alleged infringements of their legislative requirements.
How do I complain?
If you wish to make a complaint please do so in writing (this can be by e-mail). In order to ensure that we can conduct a full investigation please provide as much detail as possible including your contact details; contact details of your credit provider; when the credit agreement was concluded and the date on which you first complained to the credit provider. We cannot investigate complaints that are not made in writing, so please do ensure that you write to us and provide as much detail as possible to carry out a full investigation.
The address to write to is:
Consumer Credit Team
Gibraltar Financial Services Commission
PO Box 940
Suite 3, Ground Floor
Atlantic Suites
Europort Avenue
Gibraltar
How will my complaint be dealt with?
Once we have received a complaint from you, we will decide whether it is a complaint that can be investigated. If we consider that it can, it will be entered on the central Complaints Register. You will receive an acknowledgement within five working days of receipt of the complaint. If we decide not to investigate the complaint, we will write to you to tell you about the decision and give you reasons for it. If we decide to investigate a complaint, it will be investigated as quickly as possible. If the investigation is not completed within four weeks, you will be contacted and given a likely completion date. We will aim to ensure that we complete the investigation of a complaint within eight weeks.
What happens if my complaint is rejected?
We will write to you to give you our reasons for rejecting your complaint.
What if I am unhappy with the Director’s verdict?
You may decide to bring proceedings before the Supreme Court.
What if I am not satisfied with the progress of the investigation of the complaint?
For more information on complaints against the GFSC please click here.
Is there a time limit on making a complaint?
You should complain when you first become aware of the circumstances of the complaint or no later than 6 years from when the credit agreement came into effect.
Does it cost anything?
No. There is no charge for the investigation of a complaint.