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  Eddie's Rocket

  Please choose from the following options so that Eddies Rocket can more specifically respond to .......

  Eddie's rocket
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  Financial Advice

  Effective financial planning means engaging on a one-to-one basis, eye-to-eye with an advisor.

  financial advice
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  Invest With Eddie

  In response to growing requests from readers Eddie points the way to common sense investments,

  invest with Eddie
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  Eddie's Blog

  Information over-load is a common complaint. But, from time to time nuggets appear on...

  Eddie's blog
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  TV

  A new series, The Consumer Show, begins in April 2011

  The Consumer Show
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  At Your Event

  Liven up the dullest conference, meeting or party with a visit from Eddie talking about the .......

  at your event

How Do I Launch an Effective Complaint?

Write it, put the events in chronological order, attach evidence, photocopies of letters, contemporaneous notes taken of meetings, etc.

Explain why you want your money back or what action you want, like an apology.

Refer to legislation if appropriate, e.g. the Sale of Goods & Supply of Services Act, stick to the facts, try to keep your emotions in check regardless of how angry you feel - look at it from a reader's perspective. Present yourself as a reasonable rather than unreasonable person.

Call for a course of action - specifically quantify what you want. Don't go on a rant, keep it concise, as tight as possible, assigning lengthy detail to attachments and appendices.

Ring First and identify the most senior person you can contact who deals with complaints. Insist on getting the name and personalise your letter. Try to avoid a Dear Sir/ Madam openings. Personalising your letter avoids it becoming anonymous and making verbal contact first helps present you as a real person.

Should I Contact an Ombudsman?
Ombudsman services such as the Financial Services Ombudsman, Pensions Ombudsman, etc., provide an arbitration service for dispute resolution between you and a firm coming under the Ombudsman scheme. But, you can't normally engage an Ombudsman without first exhausting the complaints procedure with the firm against who you are taking the complaint. If the complaint is unsuccessful you can seek a "signing off" letter allowing you to take the case to the Ombudsman whose findings are normally binding on the firm participating in the scheme, but not binding on you. You can always reserve the right to take Court action independently if you are unhappy with the Ombudsman's findings.

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