SMS FINANCE – COMPLAINTS

At SMS Finance we believe that it is essential for our customers to be able to identify and deal with a broker who has the ability, authority and proper training to hear and respond appropriately to any complaints or disputes.

We are members of the Mortgage & Finance Association of Australia (MFAA), Commercial Asset Finance Brokers Association of Australia (CAFBA) and as such we are also subject to the requirement to have in place an Internal Dispute Resolution procedure.

Receiving complaints
You can lodge complaints by contacting John McNamara, the Complaints Officer by:

• Telephoning 07 54 300 900
• e-mailing john@smsfinance.com.au
• writing to PO Box 56 Cotton Tree Qld 4558

Or Brenden Brial, the Deputy Complaints Officer by:

• Telephoning 07 54 300 900
• brenden@smsfinance.com.au
• writing to PO Box 56 Cotton Tree Qld 4558

or by speaking to any representative of our business who will refer you to the Complaints or Deputy Complaints Officer.

You should explain the details of your complaint as clearly as you can and include:

• Details of the complaint
• Employees that you may have already spoken with
• Relevant dates and times
• Relevant documentation

You may do this verbally or in writing.
When we receive a complaint, we will acknowledge receipt of your complaint and attempt to resolve it promptly.
We hope that in this way we will stop any unnecessary and inappropriate escalation of minor complaints.

We will observe the following principles in handling your complaint:

• there is no requirement for face-to-face contact between you and us, although it may be useful for us to come to a satisfactory resolution;
• we expect that both parties will make a genuine attempt to resolve a complaint promptly;
• we expect that both parties will provide all essential and relevant information, documents, written statements and any other materials that may properly and reasonably be believed to assist in resolving the complaint;
• we expect that both parties will comply with all reasonable requests from the other party to provide information within a reasonable time frame.

Time Frames 
It will always be our intention to resolve any complaint within the shortest possible time frame. Once all information is to hand, we will investigate your complaint thoroughly and inform you of the outcome as soon as possible. However if we are unable to provide a response within 45 days of the complaint a written explanation as to why will be provided.

Our external dispute resolution scheme
If we do not reach agreement on your complaint, you may refer the complaint to an ASIC Approved External Dispute Resolution (EDR) Scheme. Our external dispute providers:

AFCA (Australian Financial Complaints Authority)
GPO Box 3, MELBOURNE VIC 3001
Phone 1300 56 55 62
Email: info@afca.org.au
Web: http://www.afca.org.au

External dispute resolution is a free service established to provide you with an independent mechanism to resolve specific complaints.