Lambert & Foster Complaints Procedure

If you have a complaint, then this note sets out the procedure which we will follow in dealing with that complaint. 

1. A person has been appointed for each of our offices to deal with complaints, and initially you should not hesitate to contact the Office Manager. Alternatively, if your complaint is about the Office Manager, you should contact Alan Mummery at Lambert & Foster Ltd, 77 Commercial Road, Paddock Wood, Kent TN12 6DS (Tel. 01892 832325).
2. Where your complaint is initially made orally, you will be requested to send a written summary of your complaint, including as much detail as possible, to the person dealing with it. We will then respond in line with the timeframes set out below (if you feel we have not sought to address your complaints within eight weeks, you may be able to refer your complaint to the Property Ombudsman to consider without our final viewpoint on the matter). 
3. Once we have received your written summary of the complaint, we will contact you in writing within three working days to inform you of our understanding of the circumstances leading to your complaint. You will be invited to make any comments that you may have in relation to this. 
4. Within 15 working days of receipt of your written summary, the person dealing with your complaint will write to you, in order to inform you of the outcome of the investigation into your complaint and to let you know what actions have been or will be taken. 
5. If you are still not satisfied after the last stage of the in-house complaint procedure (or more than eight weeks has elapsed since the complaint was first made) and where you are a consumer (which means a person acting outside the course of any business of his, or a person to whom a duty of care is owed), then you may refer the matter without charge to The Property Ombudsman: Milford House, 43-55 Milford Street, Salisbury SP1 2BP Tel: 01722 335458 www.tpos.co.uk Alternatively (and this is more likely to apply to businesses than individuals) we will attempt to resolve the matter promptly through negotiations and otherwise agree to enter into mediation with you in accordance with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ Alternative Dispute Resolution procedure which is provided by Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution, 70 Fleet Street, London EC4Y 1EU Tel: 0207 536 6116 email: applications@cedr.com website: www.cedr.com/consumer/rics
6. You will need to submit your complaint to The Property Ombudsman within 12 months of receiving our final viewpoint letter, including any evidence to support your case.
   The Property Ombudsman requires that all complaints are addressed through this in-house complaints procedure, before being submitted for an independent review. 

 

Revised – February 2022