Service Standards

Telephone Enquiries

• We aim to answer the telephone within three rings. On the rare occasions where this is not possible the call is diverted, taking a further three rings prior to the call being answered.

• Our consultants all have mobile phones, however, we urge our clients to contact the office in the first instance to avoid incurring additional costs associated to mobile phone calls.

• In the event that your administrator or consultant is unavailable, they will endeavour to return your call within 2 hours of any message being taken.

• Occasionally it may be necessary to call you outside of normal working hours. However, this will never be after 8pm or on a Sunday, unless previously arranged.

• We will never release your telephone number or personal information to any third party without your consent.

Meetings

• It is always recommended that meetings take place from our office, especially for new clients considering our services. We have better access to data and can swiftly produce the necessary documents to progress the advice process.  We offer place or work/home consultations too, but these are offered at our discretion and will depend on the type of work being undertaken.

• When we do agree to visit you at your home or place of work we always allow time for potential traffic problems. Occasionally, however, it may not be possible to arrive on time.  Where we are likely to arrive more than 15 minutes later than the agreed time we will contact you.

• In the unlikely event that we need to re-arrange an appointment, we ensure you will be given a minimum of 48 hours notice, with the exception of illness, where you will be notified as soon as it is known.

• Once you have engaged us, we need to meet to gather the information required to provide you with the most appropriate advice. Your objectives are noted and needs established.  This meeting will generally take approximately 60 minutes, but often requires us to write to your existing providers for further clarity.

• We are usually in a position to respond with our guidance within 10 working days. We will contact you to arrange a further meeting to discuss our guidance and recommendations.  We can proceed to complete the paperwork at this stage if you wish, or we can defer to a third appointment if you feel you need more time.

Administration

• Once the forms have been completed our administration team is responsible for the smooth management of the application or appointment documentation.

• Where our advice results in a financial transaction taking place, we aim to forward your application forms for processing within two working days following completion. The administration team will regularly review the progress of your transaction until completion.

• We will issue any plan or policy documents resulting from our advice within 48 hours of their receipt. On occasions where there are a number of documents expected, we will keep them on file for the earlier of receipt of the other documents or a period of three weeks.

• It is not uncommon for your adviser and/or your administrator to work with your accountant or solicitor in organising your tax and legal affairs. However, we will not provide information or discuss your personal/business circumstances without your consent.

• It is important to note that the administration team are not authorised to provide financial advice.

Miscellaneous

• Our normal office hours are between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday. Your adviser and the administration team can be contacted between these hours.

• Office based appointments with your adviser can be arranged between the hours of 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday.

• When agreed, home or place of work appointments with your adviser can be arranged between the hours of 10am and 4pm, Monday to Friday.

• We will always confirm our recommendations and advice in writing.

• Where we agree ongoing services a separate document is provided explaining precisely the nature of the service and how it will be delivered.

• We will not undertake any chargeable work without your written consent at any time.

Sterling Financial Services will always aim to provide you with the very best service and exceptional advice at very competitive cost.  If at any time you feel that our proposition could be improved we really would welcome your feedback.