DES WINKS CARS LIMITED COMPLAINTS POLICY

1. Definitions

1.1In this Complaints Policy the following expressions have the following meanings:

2. Purpose of this Complaints Policy

2.1 - Des Winks Cars Limited welcomes and encourages feedback of all kinds from our customers. If you have a Complaint about our goods AND/OR services, our customer service, or about our employees/agents/sub-contractors not only do we want to resolve it to your satisfaction but we also want to learn from it in order to improve our business and customer experience in the future.

2.2 - It is our policy to resolve Complaints quickly and fairly, where possible without recourse to formal investigations or external bodies. In particular, the aims of this Complaints Policy are:

2.2.1 - To provide a clear and fair procedure for any customers who wish to make a Complaint about our goods AND/OR services, our customer service, or about our employees/agents/sub-contractors.

2.2.2 - To ensure that everyone working for or with Des Winks Cars Limited knows how to handle Complaints made by our customers;

2.2.3 - To ensure that all Complaints are handled equally and in a fair and timely fashion;

2.2.4 - To ensure that important information is gathered from Complaints and used in the future to avoid such a situation arising again.

3. What this Complaints Policy Covers

3.1 - This Complaints Policy applies to the sale of goods AND/OR the provision of services including financial or insurance products supplied by Des Winks Cars Limited. This also includes our customer service and our employees/agents/sub-contractors.

3.2 - For the purposes of this Complaints Policy, any reference to Des Winks Cars Limited also includes our employees/agents/sub-contractors.

3.3 - Complaints may relate to any of our activities and may include (but not be limited to):

3.3.1 - The quality of customer service you have received from ourselves.

3.3.2 - The behaviour and/or professional competence of our employees/agents/sub-contractors.

3.3.3 -Delays, defects or other problems associated with the sale of goods or services by Des Winks Cars Limited.

3.3.4 - Delays, defects, poor workmanship or other problems associated with the provision of services by Des Winks Cars Limited.

3.4 - The following are not considered to be Complaints and should therefore be directed to the appropriate employee or department.

3.4.1 - General questions about our goods AND/OR services;

3.4.2 - Matters concerning contractual or other legal disputes;

3.4.3 - Formal requests for the disclosure of information, for example, under applicable legislation.

4. Making a Complaint

4.1 - All Complaints, whether they concern our goods AND/OR services, our customer service, or our employees/agents/sub-contractors, should be made in one of the following ways:

4.1.1 - In writing, addressed to the appropriate Sales (Andrew Veitch) or Aftersales (James Brown) Department Director at Des Winks Cars Limited, Hopper Hill Road, Eastfield, Scarborough, YO11 3YS.

4.1.2 - By email, addressed to the appropriate Sales or Aftersales Department Director. For Sales andy.veitch@deswinks.volkswagen.co.uk or Aftersales to james.brown@deswinks.volkswagen.co.uk

4.1.3 - By contacting us by telephone on 01723 580058 and choosing the correct department option when prompted.

4.2 - When making a Complaint, you will be required to provide the following information in as much detail as is reasonably possible:

4.2.1 - Your name, address, telephone number and email address (We will contact you using your preferred contact method as your Complaint is handled);

4.2.2 - If you are making a Complaint on behalf of someone else, that person’s name and contact details as well as your own;

4.2.3 - If you are making a Complaint about a particular transaction, the vehicle registration number, policy or order number, reference number/code.

4.2.4 - If you are making a Complaint about a particular employee/agent or subcontractor of ours, the name and, where appropriate, position of that person.

4.2.5 - Further details of your Complaint including, as appropriate, all times, dates, events, and people involved;

4.2.6 - Details of any documents or other evidence you wish to rely on in support of your Complaint;

4.2.7 - Details of what you would like Des Winks Cars Limited to do to resolve your Complaint and to put things right. (Please note that whilst we will make every reasonable effort to accommodate such requests, we are not bound to take any action beyond that which we may be contractually or otherwise legally obliged to take.

5. How We Handle Your Complaint and our Procedure

5.1 - Des Winks Cars Limited operates a two-stage complaints handling procedure. Following our Complaints Procedure, our aim is to always resolve Complaints to your satisfaction at Level One without further recourse to Level Two. If you are not satisfied at the end of Level One, you may escalate your Complaint to Level Two. If you are still not satisfied at the end of Level Two, Complaints may progress to External Resolution as detailed below.

5.2 - Level One:

5.2.1 - Upon receipt of your Complaint, the department director identified above in Section 4.1 will log the Complaint in our system and will acknowledge receipt of it in writing or email within 5 business days, giving you a Complaint Reference.

5.2.2 - When we acknowledge receipt of your Complaint, we will also provide details of your Complaint Handler. This may be the Sales/Aftersales Director to whom your original Complaint was directed (as above) or your Complaint may be assigned to another appropriate member of our team.

5.2.3 - If your Complaint relates to a specific employee/agent/subcontractor, that person will be informed of your Complaint and given a fair and reasonable opportunity to respond. Any communication between you and the employee/agent/subcontractor in question should take place only via the Complaint Handler and we respectfully ask that you do not contact the individual in question directly concerning the Complaint while we are working to resolve it.

5.2.4 - If we require any further information or evidence from you, the Complaint Handler will contact you as quickly as is reasonably possible to ask for it. We ask that you use reasonable efforts to supply any such information or evidence quickly in order to avoid delaying the complaints handling process. If you are for any reason unable to provide such information or evidence we will use all reasonable efforts to proceed without it, however please be aware that we will not ask for further information or evidence unless we consider it important to the successful resolution of your Complaint.

5.2.5 - We aim to resolve Level One Complaints within 4 weeks however in some cases, particularly if your Complaint is of a complex nature, this may not be possible. If this is not possible for any reason you will be informed of the delay, the likely length of the delay and the reasons for it.

5.2.6 - At the conclusion of the Level One complaints procedure, regardless of the outcome, we will provide you with full details of our investigation, our conclusions from that investigation, and any action taken as a result. You will also be reminded of your right to appeal our decision and escalate the complaint to Level Two in the form of an Appeal.

5.3 - Level Two:

5.3.1 - If you are not satisfied with the resolution of your complaint at Level One, you may appeal the decision within 14 days and have the complaint escalated to Level Two. Appeals are handled by the Managing Director or another Director that he may appoint to handle the appeal.

5.3.2 - Appeals, quoting your original Complaint Reference, should be directed to your original Complaint Handler who will forward the request to an appropriate Appeal Handler. Receipt of Appeals will be acknowledged in writing within 5 business days. When we acknowledge receipt of your Appeal we will also provide details of your Appeal Handler.

5.3.3 - If your Complaint relates to a specific employee/agent/subcontractor, that person will be informed of your Appeal and given a further opportunity to respond. Any communication between you and the employee/agent/subcontractor in question should take place only via the Appeal Handler and we respectfully ask that you do not contact the individual/persons in question directly concerning the Complaint while we are working to resolve it.

5.3.4 - If we require any further information or evidence from you, the Appeal Handler will contact you as quickly as is reasonably possible to ask for it. We ask that you use reasonable efforts to supply any such information or evidence to us quickly in order to avoid delaying the complaints handling process. If you are for any reason unable to provide such information or evidence, we will use all reasonable efforts to proceed without it, however please be aware that we will not ask for further information or evidence unless we consider it important to the successful resolution of your Complaint.

5.3.5 - We aim to resolve Level Two Complaints within 4 weeks however in some cases, particularly if your Complaint is of a complex nature, this may not be possible. If this is not possible for any reason you will be informed of the delay, the likely length of the delay and the reasons for it.

5.3.6 - At the conclusion of the Level Two procedure, regardless of the outcome, we will provide you with full details of our investigation, our conclusions from that investigation, and any action taken as a result. Our decision at this stage is final, subject to your right to seek External Resolution of your Complaint.

5.3.7 - As we are a representative of Volkswagen Group including Volkswagen/Skoda UK and also Volkswagen Financial Services, or as we are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority you, as our customer, have the right to seek External Resolution of your Complaint from either Volkswagen or Skoda UK or the Financial Ombudsmen Service if you are not satisfied with the outcome of your Level Two Complaint.

6. Confidentiality and Data Protection

6.1 - All Complaints and information relating thereto are treated with the utmost confidence. Such information will only be shared with those employees /agents/subcontractors of Des Winks Cars Limited who need to know in order to handle your Complaint.

6.2 - We may ask for your permission to use details of your Complaint (with your personal details removed) for internal training and quality improvement purposes. If you have given such permission, you may revoke it at any time by contacting the relevant person of whose details are provided above in Section 4.1.

6.3 - All personal information that we may collect (including, but not limited to, your name and address) will be collected, used and held in accordance with the provisions of UK data protection law (including but not limited to the UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018, and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003) and your rights thereunder, as set out in our privacy police available by request or can be found on website at www.deswinks.com

7. Questions and Further Information

7.1 - If you have any questions or require further information about any aspect of this Complaints Policy or about our Complaints Procedure, please contact the either person of whose details are provided above in Section 4.1.

8. Policy Responsibility and Review

8.1 - Overall responsibility for this Complaints Policy within Des Winks Cars Limited and the implementation thereof lies with the Managing Director, Martin Wray.

8.2 - This Complaints Policy is regularly reviewed and updated as required.

8.3 - This Complaints Policy was adopted on 01/06/2020.

8.4 - This Complaints Policy was last reviewed on 01/05/2022.