Complaints

Last updated: February 13, 2024

Client Complaint Information

Clients of a mutual fund dealer firm who are not satisfied with a financial product or service have a right to make a complaint and to seek resolution of the problem. 

The Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (“CIRO”) is the self-regulatory organization in Canada to which your mutual fund dealer firm belongs. “Member” dealers (e.g., Addington Financial Corporation) have a responsibility to their clients to ensure that all complaints are dealt with fairly and promptly.  If you have a complaint about a mutual fund dealer firm or advisor who works at a mutual fund dealer firm, these are some of the steps you can take:

  • Contact your mutual fund dealer firm, Addington Financial Corporation, by phone (+1 905 879-5075) and request to speak with Alex Gucciardi, the Compliance Officer. Member dealers are responsible to you, the investor, for monitoring the actions of their representatives to ensure that they are in compliance with by-laws, rules and policies governing their activities. The firm will investigate any complaint that you initiate and respond back to you with the results of their investigation within the time period expected of a Member acting diligently in the circumstances, in most cases, within three months of receipt of the complaint. It is helpful if your complaint is in writing.

  • Contact CIRO, which investigates complaints about mutual fund dealers and their representatives, and takes enforcement action where appropriate. You may make a complaint to CIRO at any time, whether or not you have complained to your mutual fund dealer. CIRO can be contacted by:

    • Completing the on-line complaint form (https://www.ciro.ca/office-investor/how-make-complaint)

    • Telephone in Toronto at (416) 361-6332, or toll free at 1-888-466-6332

    • E-mail at complaints@ciro.ca

    • Mail at CIRO, Bay Adelaide North, 40 Temperance Street, Suite 2600, Toronto ON M5H 0B4

    • Fax at (416) 361-9073

Compensation

CIRO does not order compensation or restitution to clients of Members.  CIRO exists to regulate the operations, standards of practice and business conduct of its Members and their representatives with a mandate to enhance investor protection and strengthen public confidence in the Canadian investment industry.  If you are seeking compensation, you may consider the following:

  • Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (“OBSI”): You may make a complaint to OBSI after you have complained to the dealer, at either of the following times:

    • If the dealer’s Compliance Department has not responded to your complaint within 90 days of the date you complained, or;

    • After the dealer’s Compliance Department has responded to your complaint and you are not satisfied with the response. You have 180 calendar days to bring your complaint to OBSI after receiving the dealer’s response.

  • OBSI provides an independent and impartial process for the investigation and resolution of complaints about the provision of financial services to clients. OBSI can make a non-binding recommendation that your firm compensate you up to $350,000 if it determines that you have been treated unfairly, taking into account the criteria of good financial services and business practice, relevant codes of practice or conduct, industry regulation and the law.  The OBSI process is free of charge and is confidential.  OBSI can be contacted:

    • By telephone in Toronto at +1 (416) 287-2877, or toll free at +1 (888) 451-4519

    • By e-mail at ombudsman@obsi.ca

  • Legal Assistance: You may consider retaining a lawyer to assist with the complaint. You should be aware that there are legal time limits for taking civil action. A lawyer can advise you of your options and recourses. Once the applicable limitation period expires, you may lose rights to pursue some claims.

Complaint Handling Procedures

Addington Financial Corporation has procedures in place to handle any written or verbal complaints received from clients in a fair and prompt manner.  This is a summary of those procedures.

The Client Complaint Information Form

We also provide new clients and clients who complain with a separate document called the “Client Complaint Information Form” (“CCIF”) that provides general information about their options for making a complaint.

How to File a Complaint with Addington Financial Corporation

Clients wishing to complain to Addington Financial Corporation may make their complaint to our head office by contacting Alex Gucciardi, who is a qualified compliance officer.  We encourage clients to make their complaint in writing [1] or by email [2] 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 days.  We review all complaints fairly, taking into account all relevant documents and statements obtained from the client, our records, our approved person (i.e., advisor), other staff members 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 allegations [3], our initial acknowledgment will include copies of this summary and the CCIF.  Our response will summarize your complaint, our findings and will contain a reminder about your options with the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments.

We will generally provide our response within ninety days, unless we are waiting for additional information from you, or the case is novel 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.

Settlements

If we offer you a financial settlement, we may ask you to sign a release and waiver for legal reasons.

Contacting Addington Financial Corporation

Clients may contact us at any time to provide further information or to inquire as to the status of their complaint by contacting the Compliance Officer, Alex Gucciardi. at +1 (905) 879-5075.

[1] Mailing Address: Suite 7, 10175 Keele St., Vaughan, ON, L6A 3Y9

[2] addington@sympatico.ca. Clients who choose to communicate by email should be aware of possible confidentiality issues regarding internet connections.

[3] As defined in the Policies of the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization of which Addington Financial Corporation is a Member.