Complaints or Concerns

DO YOU HAVE A CONCERN ABOUT HOW WE HAVE PERFORMED?

Worrells has policies and procedures in place aimed at ensuring that all appointments are carried out to the highest ethical standards, to the highest industry standards, in accordance with the relevant legislation, and where appropriate in line with the wishes of creditors. We train our staff to be not only technically competent but also to be responsive and respectful to input from all parties involved in an appointment.

Despite our best intentions and the adoption of these procedures and standards, instances may arise where clients, creditors or other stakeholders are dissatisfied with some aspect of our work. To deal with such instances we have set up procedures to quickly and fairly consider any complaint and to take remedial action as required. We give our assurance that all complaints will be treated seriously. One of our partners is designated as the complaints partner and will handle any complaint that is not satisfied by the staff involved in the file.

We encourage anyone who has a concern with our performance to bring that concern to our attention.

WORRELLS’ POLICY

Complaints

A complaint arises when any client, creditor or any other stakeholder raises a concern about any aspect of the firm’s activities. A concern could cover the way we have performed, the cost of our work, the time taken to complete a task, a conflict of interest issue or any other concern about the firm.

Where a complaint has been raised and the staff or partner involved has been unable to satisfy the complainant’s concerns, the staff member or partner must:

(a) Advise the complainant that the firm has a formal complaint resolution process in place.
(b) Ask if the complainant wishes to speak to the designated complaints partner.
(c) Direct the complainant to this policy statement.
(d) Offer to send a copy of the complaints policy to the complainant if the complainant cannot access this website.

Because we are always seeking to improve our service and the level of client satisfaction, the partner or staff member involved must refer the matter to the complaints partner if the problem is one that is systems based or which might recur in the future. This is the case even if the complainant does not wish to proceed any further with the matter.

Complaints Officer

Complaints will generally be referred to the firm’s senior partner. If for any reason it is not appropriate to refer a complaint to that partner, the complaint will be referred to another partner, usually a senior partner in another Worrells office.

A complainant may nominate any other Worrells partner they wish to review their complaint. Complaints initiated through this web page will automatically be emailed to the complaints officer, to be handled in compliance with this policy.

Complaints need not be in writing

Our policy is to encourage complaints to be put in writing (these may be made anonymously) so that we can be certain what the concerns are, however this is not essential.

Where the complainant is unwilling to put the complaint in writing, the complaints officer will make a record of what appears to be the issues and (if the complainant does not wish to remain anonymous) will forward a letter to the complainant detailing the apparent areas of concern and will invite the complainant to comment.

Worrells’ Promises

We promise to treat every complaint seriously and will provide a detailed response within five business days. In appropriate circumstances, we will seek input from a senior member of our profession from outside of the firm or from the governing industry body or regulator (usually ASIC, AFSA or ARITA).

We promise to treat every complainant with respect and consideration and will ensure that the fact that a complaint has been made will not in any way adversely affect the way we deal with the complainant in the future.

If the complaint deals with the level of our fees, we will reassess the reasonableness of the fees taken and, if appropriate, repay any amount that cannot be justified.

When considering the level of our fees, we will not limit our review to a technical assessment of whether we are entitled to the fees asked for but will also consider whether the work we did provided value for money to creditors and clients and was necessary and in the interest of all stakeholders. We will consider anonymous complaints as far as the circumstances of the claim allow, but obviously will not be able to respond directly to the complainant.

IF YOU ARE STILL NOT SATISFIED

If, despite our best endeavors to deal with a complaint, the complainant remains unsatisfied, we will remind them that they may raise the matter with either:

The Australian Securities & Investment Commission (ASIC), in relation to company matters;

Australian Financial Security Authority (AFSA) in relation personal insolvency matters; or

The Australian Restructuring Insolvency & Turnaround Association (ARITA) ( formerly known as IPA), the Society of CPAs or the Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand in relation to professional concerns;

Contact details for each of the above bodies may be found under Links on this website.

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