Complaints Procedure

This procedure explains how Zenith Legal Services Group Ltd ("we", "us", "our") handles complaints in connection with our commercial receivables business. It applies to debtors, the personal guarantors of corporate obligations, assignors of receivables, and any other party who has dealt with us in the course of our work.

We take complaints seriously. A documented procedure protects the integrity of our recovery work and ensures that legitimate concerns are addressed promptly and fairly.

1. What this procedure covers

This procedure applies to complaints concerning any of the following:

• The validity, amount or particulars of a receivable we have acquired and are seeking to recover.
• The conduct of our pre-action correspondence or other recovery activity.
• The operation or administration of an agreed payment plan.
• The accuracy of records or personal data we hold about you.
• The conduct of any individual acting on our behalf.
• Any other matter arising from a dealing with our firm.

This procedure is not a substitute for independent legal advice. Substantive disputes over the existence, amount, or enforceability of an underlying debt are matters of law and may ultimately be determined only by a court of competent jurisdiction. We will, however, treat any bona fide challenge raised through this procedure with appropriate seriousness during our investigation.

2. How to make a complaint

A complaint may be made through any of the channels below. To enable a proper investigation, please include your case reference (shown on any correspondence received from us) and a clear description of the matter you are raising.

• By email: complaints@zenithlegalgroup.com
• By post: Complaints, Zenith Legal Services Group Ltd, Collingwood Buildings, 38 Collingwood Street, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 1JF
• By telephone: +44 (0) 203 940 9182. A written record will be made of any complaint raised by telephone and shared with you for confirmation.

You may make a complaint on behalf of another person where you have their written authority to do so, or where you are a director acting on behalf of a corporate debtor.

3. Acknowledgment

We will acknowledge receipt of your complaint in writing within five working days. The acknowledgment will confirm the case reference, the nature of the complaint as we understand it, the name of the person responsible for investigating, and the expected date of our final response.

4. Investigation and final response

We aim to provide a full written response within eight weeks of receipt. Our response will set out:

• The findings of our investigation.
• Whether we consider the complaint, in whole or in part, to be justified.
• The steps we have taken, or propose to take, to resolve the matter.
• Where applicable, any corrective action including suspension of enforcement, adjustment of the balance, or other proportionate remedy.

Where the matter is exceptionally complex and a final response cannot reasonably be provided within eight weeks, we will write to explain the reason for the delay and provide a revised timescale.

5. Action during investigation

Where a complaint raises a bona fide challenge to the validity or amount of a specific receivable, we will suspend further enforcement action on that matter while the investigation is ongoing. Suspension of the matter under complaint does not affect any unrelated matters and does not constitute admission of the complaint.

Payment plans already in operation will normally continue during the investigation unless the complaint specifically concerns the plan itself, in which case collection under the plan may be suspended pending the outcome.

6. If you remain dissatisfied

Zenith Legal Services Group Ltd is a commercial receivables business. Commercial debt purchase falls outside the regulated perimeter under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, and we do not fall within the jurisdiction of the Financial Ombudsman Service. The following external routes remain available to you if our final response does not resolve the matter.

Personal data and privacy matters

If your complaint concerns how we have collected, used, stored or shared your personal data, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office:

• Website: ico.org.uk
• Helpline: 0303 123 1113
• Post: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF

Substantive disputes over the underlying debt

Where your complaint raises a substantive legal challenge that we are unable to resolve through this procedure, you are entitled to seek independent legal advice and, where appropriate, to raise the matter through the courts. The Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims and the Civil Procedure Rules (or the equivalent Scots law procedures where applicable) set out the steps for the conduct of any such proceedings.

Other routes

Where you consider that our conduct has caused you loss separate from the underlying debt, you may bring proceedings in your own right. We recommend taking independent legal advice in any such case.

7. Records

We retain a record of every complaint received, our acknowledgment, the investigation file, and the final response for a minimum of six years from the date the matter is closed. These records are held in accordance with our Privacy Notice and are available on request to the complainant.

8. Repetitive or previously-determined complaints

Where a complaint has been the subject of investigation and a final response has been issued, we are not obliged to revisit the same matter unless new and material information is brought to our attention. We reserve the right to decline further correspondence on a matter that has been previously and properly determined.

9. Our undertaking

We will deal with every complaint courteously and on its merits. We will not seek to dissuade a complainant from raising a matter, nor will the making of a complaint affect the conduct of any other dealings between us, save where suspension of a specific matter is necessary for the proper investigation of the complaint itself.

10. Changes to this procedure

We may update this procedure from time to time. The most current version will always be available on this page.