African Independent Brokers Complaints Procedure

If you have any complaints, which may have caused you or may cause you prejudice or damage, relating to a financial service rendered by African Independent Group or by one of our representatives, please immediately contact our Dispute Resolution Facilitator as per the following contact details:

Name of Dispute Resolution Facilitator: Naresh Tulsie
Telephone Number : (011) 812-8023
Fax Number : 086 677 3672

Physical Address:
66 Charterland Avenue
Selcourt
Springs
1559

Our complaints procedure has been established in terms of the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act to protect you, our client.

All complaints must be submitted in writing and must contain all relevant information, and copies of all relevant documentation must be attached hereto. All of your contact details must be provided too.

African Independent Group’s internal complaints resolution process is intended to provide fair and effective resolution of all complaints. The procedure for handling complaints is as follows:

• Our Dispute Resolution Facilitator will confirm receipt of your complaint and then refer the matter to the supervisor responsible for the representative or department against whom a complaint is made.
• Our Compliance Officer will confirm the name and contact details of the supervisor at African Independent who will be handling the complaint.
• The supervisor will make a full enquiry into the complaint by:
  • Calling all necessary documentation from staff members involved in the matter.
  • Investigating your client files.
  • Interviewing staff members involved.
• Where necessary the supervisor will refer the matter to the product supplier for a response.
• The supervisor may ask for additional information from you within 7 days of receipt of the letter of complaint. You must ensure that you provide the information so that your complaint be processed further.
• The supervisor will draft a letter of response to you within 7 working days from the time the complaint or (if it was asked for) additional information is received from you.
• If the complaint is of a routine nature, the supervisor will respond to the complainant in writing within 14 working days of the receipt of any additional information requested from the complainant. If no additional information is requested, then a response will be submitted within 14 days of receipt of the initial complaint.
• The response may deal with one or more of the following issues:
  • Any proposed settlement if appropriate
  • Suggested remedy for your complaint
  • Dismissal of complaint and reasons why
  • Apology (if applicable)
  • If any disciplinary action has been taken against the staff member involved and the outcome of such disciplinary action.
  • Identified problems within the organization and how they will be resolved.
• If during the course of the enquiry, the supervisor becomes aware that your complaint is of a non-routine or serious nature, the following steps will apply:
  • The supervisor will refer the matter of our Compliance Officer.
  • Our Compliance Officer will make a recommendation to African Independent Group as to how they should proceed with this complaint.
    • The Compliance Officer in his response may suggest that this matter referred to the FAIS Ombud for FAIS for adjudication.
    • The Compliance Officer may suggest that this matter be referred for an opinion from an attorney. The attorney’s opinion will be sought at our expense.
    • Based on the gravity of his/her findings, our Compliance Officer will recommend to Management to follow up requirements and consequences for the non-compliant representatives and/or Administrative Staff.
    • Our Compliance Officer may dismiss the complaint.
• Our CEO, Compliance Officer and the supervisor concerned will formulate a joint response to your complaint.
• This process will be facilitated as soon as reasonably possible.
• If you do not feel satisfied our response under point 10 above and we therefore have not resolved the dispute via our internal dispute resolution process, subject to your agreement, you may refer this matter to the FAIS Ombud for adjudication within 6 months of our response.
• The Ombud for FAIS is appointed by the Financial Services Board to act as an adjudicator in disputes between clients and financial services providers such as African Independent Group.
• The Ombud acts independently and objectively and has jurisdiction in respect of complaints relating to advice or intermediary services, which have arisen after 15 November 2002.
• The Ombud can adjudicate on claims up to R800 000.
• There are no upfront costs when lodging a claim through the Ombud’s office, but the Ombud may quantify cost awards against either the complainant or the Financial Services Provider with regard to the nature of the complaint, time duration of the complaint and expense and inconvenience suffered by the complainant.
• The full contact details for the Ombud’s office are as follows:
  Name of Ombud : Noluntu Bam is the Ombud
  Email address : info@faisombud.co.za
  Tel Number : 012 470 9080
  Fax Number : 012 348 3447
  
  Physical Address
  Eastwood Office Park Celtis House
  Ground Floor
  Lynwood Ridge
  0081
• Whenever there is a complaint dealt with under this complaints procedure, African Independent Group will make a record of the complaint and undertake to make appropriate internal changes or take such disciplinary action as is appropriate. If, at the time of our response to your initial complaint, there are any matters pending or steps being implemented to remedy any internal faults in our organization, we will ensure that we advise you of these changes when they are finalized.
• All complaints are recorded in a complaints register and submitted quarterly to both the Compliance Officer and the CEO of African Independent Group. The register contains full details of the complaint and the outcome of such complaint or its current status.
• The time periods set out in this complaints procedure will be adhered to as strictly as possible but may be varied if necessary.
• In any case where a complaint is resolved in favour of the client, African Independent Group will ensure that a full and appropriate redress is offered to the client without any delay.
• This complaints procedure is intended to protect our clients. We reserve the right to recover costs or damages that we suffer as a result of clients making frivolous, vexatious or unreasonable claims.
• This complaints procedure can be added to, changed or cancelled by us at any time.

Alternatively where a client is dissatisfied with the outcome of a claim or a claim which has been rejected, a complaint may be lodged with the Offices of the Ombudsman for Short Term insurance who acts as an independent, impartial mediator who adjudicates disputes between insured members of the public and member insurance companies at no cost to the client. The ombudsman adjudicates complaints on both the legal basis and fairness and equity.

The Ombudsman may be contacted at:

Name of Ombud : Brian Martin is the Ombudsman
Email address : info@osti.co.za
Tel Number : 011 726 8900
Fax Number : 011 726 5501

Physical Address
Sunnyside Office Park
5th Floor, Building D
32 Princess of Wales Terrace
Parktown