Time limits

Your customer usually needs to complain to you or to us within 6 years of the problem happening.

If they haven’t done this, we can’t usually investigate the complaint unless the customer makes their complaint within 3 years of becoming aware (or when they should reasonably have become aware) that they had cause to complain.

Your business has 8 weeks to consider a complaint. Before this time limit has passed, you should send customer a final response.

What the final response should say

The final response should mention that customer has the right to refer their complaint to the Claims Management Ombudsman at the Financial Ombudsman Service

If the final response doesn't mention the 6 month time limit, then the response isn't valid and the customer can still complain to us after that.

The final response also needs to whether you agree to us looking into the complaint if it’s referred to us. If you say you agree, you can't change your mind later on.

There are other things you’ll need to include in your final response – you can check the correct wording to use

customer has received your final response, they have 6 months from the date of this to refer their complaint to us.

If they complain later than this, we usually won’t be able to help unless:

• the delay is due to exceptional circumstances – for example, they were seriously ill during the time when they had to refer the complaint
• you didn’t send a valid final response
• you agree to us being involved after the 6 month time limit

 If you don’t to us investigating a late complaint, we'll weight: look into what's happened and decide if we agree the complaint is out of time.

How to calculate when the 6 month time limit ends

The 6 months start from the date the you send the final response. We then use calendar months to work out the end date.

So if you send a final response on 7 May, the customer has until 7 November to refer the complaint to us.

If you send a final response on 30 August, then the customer has until 28 February to complain to us – since it’s not possible to have an end date of 30 February.