Complaints procedure
If something has gone wrong, we want to hear about it, and we want to fix it in a way you can verify. This page explains how to raise a complaint, what happens next, the timelines we work to, and what you can do if you are not satisfied with our answer.
1. Our commitment
Every complaint is read by a person, acknowledged in writing and investigated by someone who was not involved in the events complained about. We handle complaints in good faith, keep you informed of progress, and use what we learn to fix root causes rather than individual symptoms.
A complaint will never affect how we treat your account, your withdrawals or your access to support. Raising one is a right, not a favour, and it is free.
2. The process, step by step
Stage one: send your complaint by email to the address above with the word complaint in the subject line. Stage two: we acknowledge receipt and give you a reference number, normally within one working day. Stage three: an investigator reviews your account history, the events described and any internal records, and may come back to you with clarifying questions. Stage four: you receive a written outcome explaining what we found, what we will do about it and, where relevant, what redress we consider appropriate. Stage five: if you disagree with the outcome, you can ask for a review or take the matter further as described in the escalation section below.
Simple complaints are often resolved at stage three within days. Complex ones, particularly those involving third parties such as payment providers, take longer, and we will tell you honestly when they will.
3. What to include
To investigate properly we need: your full name and the email address on your Cerfina account; dates and times of the events; a clear description of what happened and what you expected to happen; any reference numbers, screenshots or transaction identifiers that relate to the issue; and the outcome you are seeking.
Please do not include full card numbers, passwords or one-time codes in your message, and never send document copies unless we ask for them as part of a specific investigation. If we need identity documents, we will request them through the secure verification channel rather than by email attachment.
4. Timelines
Acknowledgement of a complaint is sent within one working day of receipt. Most investigations are complete within five working days, and you will receive a status update at least every five working days while a case remains open. A final written response is issued within eight weeks of the complaint being received at the latest, in line with the expectations that apply to financial businesses operating in the United Kingdom.
If we cannot meet a timeline because we are waiting on a third party, we will say so, name the type of third party involved and tell you what we are doing to chase it. Silence from us is never part of the process.
5. Escalation inside Cerfina
If you believe the investigation was superficial or its conclusion wrong, reply to the final response within fourteen days asking for a management review. A senior manager who has had no prior involvement re-examines the case, the evidence and the reasoning, and issues a fresh written outcome. This internal review does not extend the eight-week limit and does not affect your right to go further.
If the complaint concerns a member of staff, or sensitive conduct, it is escalated automatically to the compliance function on receipt and handled under the stricter timelines that apply to conduct matters.
6. External dispute resolution
If we have issued a final response and you remain dissatisfied, or eight weeks have passed without one, you may refer the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service, the established dispute-resolution route for financial complaints in the United Kingdom. The Ombudsman is independent of Cerfina, and its service is free for consumers. We will include the relevant information about this route in our final response letter, including the time limits that apply for referring a complaint onward.
We name the Ombudsman as an available route for eligible complainants; nothing on this page should be read as a description of our own registration status, which is set out on the Licensing and Regulation page.
7. Our commitments to you
One: transparency, meaning you will be told who is handling your case and what stage it has reached. Two: confidentiality, meaning the content of your complaint is shared only with those who need it to investigate. Three: objectivity, meaning no one investigates their own conduct. Four: communication, meaning updates you can understand without calling us for interpretation. Five: fairness, meaning outcomes follow from evidence, not from how loudly a complaint was made. Six: follow-through, meaning commitments made in a final response are tracked until they are delivered.
8. Contact for complaints
Send complaints to [email protected] with complaint in the subject line, or post them to our Manchester office at 1 St Peter's Square, Manchester M2 3DE, United Kingdom, marked for the attention of the Client Support and Compliance team. Email is faster and gives you an automatic record of what was sent and when.
If you have difficulty writing in English, say so in your first message and we will arrange assistance; a language barrier should never be the reason a complaint goes unheard.