Regulation

General complaints

If you would like to talk to us about how we could improve our service to you, or if you are unhappy with the service you are receiving, in the first instance please contact Rob Beale.

We will consider carefully any complaint you may make about our work as soon as we receive it and we will do all we can to resolve it.  We will acknowledge within five business days of its receipt and endeavour to deal with it within eight weeks.

Probate regulation, ICAEW & legal ombudsman

If your complaint is regarding work undertaken for Probate in the first instance, please contact Rob Beale.

We will consider carefully any complaint you may make about our work in this engagement as soon as we receive it and we will do all we can to resolve it. We will acknowledge your letter within five business days of its receipt and endeavour to deal with it within eight weeks. As this service is defined as being a legal service under ICAEW guidelines, it is under the jurisdiction of the Legal Ombudsman. Accordingly if we do not deal with your complaint in this time, or if you are unhappy with our response, you may of course take up the matter with the Legal Ombudsman.

The Legal Ombudsman’s ability to deal with your complaint is dependent on the following factors;

  1. you must refer the complaint to the Legal Ombudsman no later than:

six years from the act/omission; or three years from when you should reasonably have known  there was cause for complaint; and

  1. you must refer the complaint to the Legal Ombudsman within six months of the date of our  written response.

Contact details for the Legal Ombudsman

T: 0300 555 0333

E: enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk
Legal Ombudsman, PO Box 6806, Wolverhampton WV1 9WJ

You are also have a right to complain to the ICAEW, details of which can be found at https://www.icaew.com/about-icaew/regulation-and-the-public-interest/complaints-process/make-a-complaint.

Details of our probate accreditation can be viewed at icaew.com/probate under reference number C005394193.

Regulatory information

In the unlikely event that we cannot meet our liabilities to you, you may be able to seek a grant from ICAEW’s Probate Compensation Scheme. Generally, applications for a grant must be made to ICAEW within 12 months of the time you became aware, or reasonably ought to have become aware, of the loss.

Further information about the scheme and the circumstances in which grants may be made is available on ICAEW’s website: www.icaew.com/probate.

In accordance with the disclosure requirements of The Provisions of the Services Regulations 2009, we are required to hold professional indemnity insurance.  We have received dispensation from ICAEW in relation to our insurance arrangements and there are separate policies held for activities authorised and/or regulated by the ICAEW and the FCA. Our professional indemnity insurer for activities authorised and/or regulated by the ICAEW is Everest Insurance (Ireland) DAC, Ascot Syndicate 1414 @ Lloyd’s issued through Burns & Wilcox Limited . The territorial coverage is worldwide, excluding professional business carried out from an office in the United States of America or Canada and excludes any action for a claim brought in any court in the United States of America or Canada.  Our FCA professional indemnity insurer is AmTrust Europe Ltd issued through Collegiate Management Services Ltd.

Independent financial advisers regulation & FCA

 We are a firm of independent financial advisers, as such we can advise you on the products of different companies. Investment business is regulated under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and Morris Owen is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in its conduct of Investment Business. Our FCA number is 104961.

We will charge a fee for our services. Where this applies the basis of our fees will be agreed with you and set out in our Supplementary Terms of Business. Where appropriate fees may be paid by way of a customer agreed remuneration payment from a recommended investment vehicle. Our charging structure is set out in our document entitled ‘Key facts about our services’.

The firm operates a ‘Treating Customers Fairly’ policy and a copy of this will be provided to our clients.

The firm does not act as an ‘Investment Manager’.

The firm does not handle clients’ investment money, i.e. we never accept a cheque for, or from, investments which is made out to us.

This firm does not act as a principal in investment transactions.

All investments will be registered in the name of the client unless otherwise agreed in writing. All Documents of Title in respect of investments will be forwarded to the client at the earliest opportunity after receipt and checking by the firm, or may be sent directly to you by the product providers concerned. Where a number of documents relating to a series of transactions are involved, the documents will normally be retained until the series is complete. In the event that clients request the firm to obtain the investments in the name of a third party, the firm will not be liable for any default by the third party.

Although we offer independent advice, on very rare occasions we may have an interest in the business being transacted for you. If this happens, we will write to you with details of our interest, before we carry out your instructions. Similarly, if we perceive any possible conflict of interest between you and any other existing client we will convey any relevant information to you before proceeding with the investment.

The firm does not act as a Broker Fund Adviser.

The firm has no soft commission arrangements.

How we handle complaints

We take great pride in the way that we deal with our clients, but accept that sometimes things do not go as well as we would hope. Should this happen we would hope to spot this early on and rectify any issues without any inconvenience to you.

However, should you ever wish to register a formal complaint, please contact Rob Beale in writing at Morris Owen, independent financial advisers, chartered financial planners*, 43-45 Devizes Road, Swindon SN1 4BG or by telephone on 01793 603900, explaining what the problem is.

On receipt, your complaint will be acknowledged and you will receive a copy of our complaints handling procedure.  The matter will then be investigated in line with that procedure and our findings will be reported to you in writing.

If you cannot reach agreement with us, you may be entitled to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service, subject to certain time limits, unless the complainant is a business with turnover over €2 million or at least ten employees, or a charity/trust with income/assets over £1 million.

The Financial Ombudsman Service is an independent service in the UK for settling disputes between businesses providing financial services & their clients. Their web site address is:

https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/default.htm

Full details of how they can be contacted are shown on their web site, whilst you will also be provided with full details when we send to you our written conclusions from our investigation of your complaint.

Compensation

If you make a valid claim against the firm in respect of investments that we have arranged you may be entitled to redress. In the unlikely event that we cannot meet any liabilities to you, you may be able to claim compensation under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. English law will govern the provisions of the services covered by these statements and the English courts will have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute.

The contents of this web site and its pages do not constitute a recommendation of advice and is for guidance purposes only. A formal recommendation can only be given after a full assessment of the relevant information. Investments in vehicles detailed on this web site may not be guaranteed and may both fall and rise in value in accordance with investment and economic conditions.

*Morris Owen independent financial advisers is a division of Morris Owen chartered accountants. 

Tax services regulation 

If your complaint is regarding work undertaken for tax services, in the first instance, please contact Rob Beale.

We will consider carefully any complaint you may make about our work in this engagement as soon as we receive it and we will do all we can to resolve it. We will acknowledge your letter within five business days of its receipt and endeavour to deal with it within eight weeks.  Complaints to the Chartered Institute of Taxation are dealt with by the TDB.  Accordingly, if we do not deal with your complaint in this time, or if you are unhappy with our response, you may of course take up the matter with TDB, an independent body that runs the complaints and disciplinary scheme for the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) and the Association of Taxation Technicians (ATT).

Their website address is:

https://tax-board.org.uk/

Get in touch

We’re always happy to hear from new and existing clients