Complaints and disputes

Policy on the Fair Handling of Complaints and Disputes

PPTA has a policy on the fair handling of complaints and disputes. This policy applies to representatives who are affiliated with PPTA as defined by regulation. Therefore, before deciding to contact PPTA, a client must first identify which discipline the case falls under.

If the relevant facts are related to the mutual fund discipline and involve a PPTA representative, the client may forward the complaint to PPTA.

If the relevant facts relate to the insurance of persons sector, before filing a complaint, the client must first verify the registration status of the representative concerned. If the representative is not affiliated with PPTA for that sector, the complaint should be forwarded directly to the representative concerned or to the firm to which he or she is affiliated in the sector of life and health insurance. To find out the registration status of a representative, a check can be made by consulting the website of the Autorité des marchés financiers.

https://lautorite.qc.ca/en/general-public/registers/register-of-firms-and-individuals-authorized-to-practice

Who is responsible for processing a properly submitted complaint?

PPTA’s Chief Compliance Officer is responsible for the application of the Complaints and Dispute Resolution Policy and acts as a respondent to the Autorité des marchés financiers.

What is a complaint or dispute?

For the purposes of the policy, a complaint is an expression of at least one of the following three elements:

  • A reproach against a registered representative;
  • The identification of potential or actual harm to a consumer;
  • The claim of corrective action.

A complaint is not an informal attempt to have a particular problem corrected, as long as the problem is dealt with in the course of regular business and without a complaint from the consumer.

PPTA will generally request that a customer’s complaint be sent to PPTA in writing by mail or e-mail.

Where to send your complaint?

We encourage clients to put their complaint in writing or by email whenever possible. Customers who have difficulty putting their complaint in writing are asked to inform us so that we can assist them. For reasons of confidentiality, we will only deal with the client concerned or a person expressly authorized in writing by the client to deal with us on their behalf.

A consumer who wishes to file a complaint regarding group savings discipline must do so in writing to the following address :

PPTA Financial Services
Compliance Department
394 Maloney Blvd. West, Suite 101, Gatineau, Quebec (J8P 6W2)
Or by email at: info@ppta.ca

Maintenance of complaint records

Upon receipt of a complaint, a file will be created and assigned to the responsible person for handling and administration.

What happens when PPTA receives a complaint?

An acknowledgement will be sent to the complainant within 5 business days of receipt of a complaint, along with a notice to the complainant and a copy of our Complaint and Dispute Policy.

An acknowledgement will be sent to the complainant within 5 business days of receipt of a complaint, along with a notice to the complainant and a copy of our Complaint and Dispute Policy.

A thorough analysis of the file will be done by the person responsible for handling complaints.

Once the analysis is complete, a written response with reasons will be communicated to the complainant no later than 90 days following the date of receipt of a complaint. Our response may take the form of an offer of settlement, a rejection of the complaint explaining our reasons, or any other response deemed appropriate.