Complaint

Policy on handling complaints

Application of this policy

This policy applies to representatives acting on behalf of Emma Services Financiers Inc. For representatives who are independent and have business ties with Emma Services Financiers Inc. they are themselves responsible for handling the handling of customer complaints against them and must have their own complaints policy. Complainants will be redirected to the relevant independent representative if applicable.

Purpose of the policy

The purpose of a complaint handling and dispute resolution policy is to set up a fair and free procedure to deal with complaints received from complainants.

It aims in particular to supervise the receipt of complaints, the transmission of the acknowledgment of receipt and notices to the complainant, the creation of the complaints file, the transmission of this file to the Autorité des marchés financiers (hereinafter referred to as "the Authority"). And the compilation of complaints for the preparation and transmission of a half-yearly report to the AMF.

The manager

Emma has appointed a person responsible for the application of the policy in her office who acts as a sponsor of the AMF. He sees to the training of the personnel and, more particularly, to transmit him the information necessary for the respect of this policy.

The manager also has the following functions:

• To send an acknowledgment of receipt to the complainant;
• Forward the required notices to the complainant;
• Forward the file to the Authority, at the request of the complainant;
• Keep a record of complaints;
• To send a half-yearly report to the Authority.

Definition of a complaint

For policy purposes, a complaint is the expression of one or more of the following three elements:

• A reproach against a taxable person;
• The identification of a potential or actual harm that a consumer would have suffered or might suffer;
• The claim of a corrective measure.

A complaint is not an informal procedure to correct a particular problem, as long as the problem is dealt with in the context of the regular activities of the taxable person and the consumer has not lodged a complaint.

To be admissible, a complaint must be made in writing by the complainant.

Receipt of the complaint

Consumers wishing to file a complaint must do so in writing at the following address:

Emma Services Financiers inc.
Complaint Handler
7900 Pierre-Bertrand Blvd., Suite 300,
Quebec City (Quebec) G2J 0C5
418 622-6422 or 1-800-463-1516
bonjour@emma.ca

Anyone who receives a complaint must send it, as soon as it is received, to the person responsible for the application of this policy. The manager will acknowledge receipt of the complaint within five working days of receipt of the said complaint by telling the consumer that a review of the file will be made within 90 days.

The acknowledgment of receipt will contain the following information:

• A description of the complaint received specifying the harm suffered or potential, the reproach made to the taxable person and the request for corrective action;
• The name and contact information of the person responsible for processing the complaint;
• In the case of an incomplete complaint, a notice containing a request for additional information to which the complainant must respond within 15 days, failing which the complaint will be deemed abandoned;
• A copy of the policy;
• A notice informing the complainant of his right to request, if he is not satisfied with the result of the processing of his complaint or the processing itself, upon the expiry of the 90-day deadline for obtaining the reply final report of the taxable person, without exceeding a period of one year from the receipt of that reply, the transfer of his file to the Authority. The notice will mention that the Authority may offer mediation if it deems it advisable and if the parties consent;
• A notice reminding the complainant that mediation is a process of amicable settlement in which a third party (the mediator) intervenes with the parties to help them reach a satisfactory agreement;
• A notice informing the complainant that the lodging of a complaint with the Authority does not interrupt the prescription of his recourse against the taxable person in civil law courts.

Treatment of a complaint

Upon receipt of a complaint, we must conduct an investigation.

We must deal fairly and impartially with any complaints received and must respond appropriately to the specificity of the situation.

The complaint must be processed within a reasonable time after receipt of all information necessary for its investigation.

At the end of the investigation, the person responsible for handling the complaints must send the complainant a final written and reasoned reply.

Transmission of the file to the authority

If the complainant is dissatisfied with the outcome of the processing of his complaint or the processing process itself, he may require us to transfer his file to the AMF (Autorité des marchés financiers). This right may be exercised by the complainant only after expiry of the deadline for obtaining a final response, but not more than one year from the date of receipt of the response.

The transferred file consists of all the documents relating to the complaint.

Compliance with the rules of protection of personal information remains the responsibility of the taxable person.

Creating and maintaining a register

A complaint register must be created for the purpose of applying the policy.

Its update will be the responsibility of the complaints manager.

Any complaint corresponding to the definition of this expression must be entered in the register and, more particularly:

• Any written complaint, regardless of the level of intervention involved in the handling of this complaint;
• Any legal proceedings contemplated by the definition of the word complaint;
• Any complaint addressed to the Audit and Conduct Board, in the case of financial services cooperatives.

Semestrial report

The person responsible shall send the Authority a report stating the number and nature of the complaints received, according to the categories appearing in the register of the taxable person on the following dates:

By July 30th of each year for data collected between January 1st and June 30th.

and

By January 30th of each year for data collected between July 1st and December 31st.