PSC and your Advisor want to ensure that we are meeting your needs and expectations. If a question or issue arises, we are committed to resolving it in a fair manner.
How to File a Complaint with PSC
Clients wishing to complain to PSC may make their complaint to our head office, or to any branch manager, or to your Advisor. All complaints are forwarded to qualified compliance or supervisory personnel to be handled. We encourage clients to make their complaint in writing or by email1 where possible. Where clients have difficulty putting their complaint in writing, they should advise us so that we can provide assistance. For confidentiality reasons, we will only deal with the client or another individual who has the client’s express written authorization to deal with us.
Complaint Handling Procedures
We will acknowledge receipt of complaints promptly, generally within five business days. We review all complaints fairly, taking into account all relevant documents and statements obtained from the client, the Advisor, other staff members, and information from our records and any other relevant source. Once our review is complete, we provide clients with our response, which will be in writing if the complaint was made in writing. Our response may be an offer to resolve your complaint, a denial of the complaint with reasons, or another appropriate response. Where the complaint relates to certain serious allegations2, our initial acknowledgement will include copies of this summary and the Client Complaint Information Form. Our response will summarize your complaint and our findings and will contain a reminder about your options with the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (“OBSI”).
We will generally provide our response within ninety days, unless we are waiting for additional information from you, or the case is unique or very complicated.
We will respond to communications you send us after the date of our response to the extent necessary to implement a resolution or to address any new issues or information you provide.
Contacting PSC During a Complaint Investigation
Clients may contact us at any time to provide further information or to inquire as to the status of their complaint, by contacting the individual handling their complaint or by contacting a compliance officer at PSC’s head office.
If we offer you a financial settlement, we may ask you to sign a release and waiver for legal reasons.
For further information, please refer to CIRO’s pamphlet “How to Make a Complaint”, a copy of which is provided at the time of account opening. The following section is the brochure as prescribed by CIRO. We also provide a copy of the brochure as a separate document to any client who makes a complaint. Note that the OBSI does not deal with complaints related to segregated funds or other products that legally fall under insurance regulation.
