Any Member of Bar Mutual (its Insureds) can complain about the service provided by Bar Mutual.
Any other person may also use this complaints procedure where they have a complaint about the conduct of any person representing Bar Mutual.
Complaints about the service provided by Bar Mutual should be sent to the Chief Executive Officer of Bar Mutual or by post to 90 Fenchurch Street, London EC3M 4ST. It should set out the full details of the complaint.
Complaints are acknowledged in writing within one week of their receipt. The acknowledgement will include the name and job title of the person who will be considering the complaint.
Within two weeks of receiving a complaint Bar Mutual will advise the complainant of any further information that is required to determine the complaint.
If all the information reasonably required to consider the complaint has been provided, Bar Mutual will aim to resolve a complaint within six weeks of receiving it. However, Bar Mutual reserves the right to take up to eight weeks to resolve complaints. If the complaint cannot be resolved within eight weeks, Bar Mutual will provide a written explanation, an estimate of the time it thinks it will take to resolve the complaint and details of how the complaint can be referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service, if the complainant wishes to do so at that stage and is eligible to do so.
Bar Mutual will provide its decision on the outcome of complaints in writing with a summary of the reasons for its decision and any remedy it proposes. The initial position taken by Bar Mutual will have been agreed by one of the Deputy Chairs of Bar Mutual.
Where a complainant is not satisfied with Bar Mutual’s decision and/or with the remedy proposed, an appeal can be made to the Chair of Bar Mutual. Full details of the reasons for their dissatisfaction in writing are to be provided and sent by email, together with a copy of all documents and correspondence in connection with the complaint to the Chair of Bar Mutual, or by post, marked Private & Confidential, to 90 Fenchurch Street, London, EC3M 4ST. The Chair may delegate consideration of the complaint to another member of the Board.
The appeal will be acknowledged within one week of it being received and a full response to the appeal will be provided within four weeks. The decision may uphold, reverse or vary the decision made and/or remedy offered in the initial determination of the complaint.
If a complainant is unhappy with Bar Mutual’s decision and is an individual or a business with a turnover of less than £1m a year, the complaint may referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service, the contact details for which can be found at the following website:www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk.