Financial Consumer Service System

Almaviva S.A., committed to offering logistics solutions based on effective service and customer satisfaction, implements the following process:

CSS is Consumer Service System that entities should implement, which must;
a. Adopt policies, procedures and controls to provide the proper protection to their customers, relating to:

  • Ensuring education in operations, services, markets and type of business of the company.

  • Ensuring that all company staff have enough knowledge about the products or services they offer in addition to having full knowledge of the roles and procedures relating to the Financial Consumer Ombudsman.

  • Mechanism that supports the enforcement of the guiding principles, rights and responsibilities between financial consumers and entities, according to what is established by Law 1328 of 2009.

  • Proper mechanisms to provide information stipulated by law and other provisions and instructions that are issued by the Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia (Colombia’s Financial Superintendence).

  • The procedure for the effective treatment of your petitions, claims and complaints.

  • Create the mechanisms to collect statistical information about claims handling in order to improve and take corrective actions.

Who is a financial consumer?
The law establishes that within the concept of the financial consumer, every person that is a consumer of the financial and insurance system, and of the stock market, be included, meaning every customer, user or potential customer of the supervised entities.


What are the principles in this law?

  • Due diligence - Relations between supervised entities and financial consumers must be carried out in a way that favors the satisfaction of the needs of the financial consumer, according to the agreed offer, commitment and obligations.

  • Freedom of selection - Supervised entities and financial consumers can freely select their respective counterparts when entering into contracts that implement the supply of products or providing services that are offered by the former.

  • Transparency and correct, sufficient and opportune information - Supervised entities must provide financial consumers correct, sufficient, clear and opportune information that particularly allows financial consumers to properly know their rights, responsibilities and costs in the relationships that they are establishing with supervised entities.

  • Timely service to the complaints process - Supervised entities must service claims or complaints filed by financial consumers efficiently and properly, in the terms and conditions stipulated in current regulations, and after identifying the causes that generated them, design and implement the necessary and timely continuous improvement actions.

  • Financial education - Entities that are involved in the financial sector must provide adequate education to financial consumers regarding the products and financial services that are offered by supervised entities, about the nature of the markets they are acting in, about the institutions that authorized to provide them, as well as the different mechanisms established to defend their rights.

What are the rights and responsibilities of financial consumers?

  • 1. Receive quality and secured services

  • 2. Receive all information about the characteristics of products or services, in a transparent, clear, truthful, opportune and verifiable way.

  • 3. Demand due diligence in the service provided by supervised entities.

  • 4. Receive the corresponding education about the use of products and services, their rights and responsibilities and their cost.

  • 5. File petitions, requests, claims and complaints.

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What are the responsibilities of financial consumers?

The law mentions that there are individual protection practices on the part of financial consumers. Among which are the following:

  • a) Verify that the entity they wish to hire or use for their products or services is authorized and supervised by the Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia.

  • b) Learn about the products or services that you are thinking of getting or using, inquiring about the general conditions of the operation, meaning the rights, responsibilities, costs, exclusions and restrictions that apply to the product or service, demanding the verbal and written, needed, precise and sufficient explanations that will enable making informed decisions.

  • c) Follow the instructions and recommendations that are given by the supervised entity regarding the administration of financial products or services.

  • d) Check the terms and conditions of the respective contract and its attachments, as well as keeping the copies given of said documents.

  • e) Learn about the institutions and means that the entity provides to file petitions, requests, claims or complaints.

  • f) Get a timely answer for each product or service request.

  • Not exercising the individual protection practices by financial consumers does not imply the loss or ignorance of individual rights before supervised entities and competent authorities. Likewise, it doesn’t absolve supervised entities of the special obligations enshrined in the law herein regarding financial consumers.

Pursuant to External Letter 008 dated March 31, 2017 issued by the Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia (Colombia’s Financial Superintendence), which stipulates specific measures relating to service, protection and respect for disabled financial consumers. Almaviva S.A. and its subsidiaries adopt the Financial Consumer Service Policy that includes the proper and timely service for disabled persons, and pursuant to these ideas with a commitment to offer logistics solutions based on service effectiveness, we provide the email servicioalcliente@almaviva.com.co to receive any requests and/or concerns.

What are the obligations of financial institutions?

  • a) Provide information to the public regarding the Financial Consumer Ombudsman.

  • b) Properly deliver the product or service, meaning, in the conditions informed or agreed upon with the financial consumer and use adequate security and quality standards when providing them.

  • c) Provide comprehensive information and transparent, clear, truthful and timely advertising about their products and services offered in the market.

  • d) Have a Financial Consumer Service System.

  • e) Abstain from engaging in behavior that leads to contractual abuses or agreeing on clauses that can affect the balance of the contract or allow for abuse from a dominant contractual position.

  • f) Write contracts and attachments that regulate relationships with customers that are clear, in legible characters and in plain sight, and make them available for their acceptance. A copy of the documents that support the contractual relationship must be made available to the respective customer and will include the terms and conditions of the product or service, the rights and responsibilities and the interest rates, prices or rates, and how they are determined.

  • g) Abstain from making charges that haven't been agreed upon or previously notified to the financial consumer, according to the terms established in the rules about the subject and make available receipts or support for payments, transactions or operations made through any channel offered by the supervised entity. The keeping of said receipts and support must comply with the rules on the subject.

  • h) Abstain from making any charges for preliminary legal collection expenses without deploying a real activity truly aimed at such action, and without previously notifying the financial consumer about the cost of these expenses. Collection actions must be done respectfully and during appropriate hours.

  • i) Maintain confidentiality regarding the information provided by the financial consumer and to be classified in nature in the terms established by the corresponding regulation, without prejudice of providing it to competent authorities.

  • j) Certify the state and/or specific conditions of the products on a specified date, when the financial consumer requests it, in accordance with the procedure established for this effect, except in those cases in which the supervised entity is required to do so without previous request.

  • k) Handle and give timely response to requests, claims or complaints drafted by financial consumers, following procedures established for this effect, the provisions granted in this law, and other rules that may be applicable.

  • l) Provide the human, physical and technological resources so that the branches and agencies can provide efficient and timely service to the financial consumers.

  • m) Allow their customers to have free consultation, at least once a month, on the state of their products and services, using the channels indicated by the entity.

  • n) Have in their website a link to the Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia, devoted to the financial consumer.

  • o) Report to the Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia, as it indicates, the price of all products and services that are offered to the masses. This information must be disclosed permanently by each supervised entity in their offices, the teller machines in their network, and in its webpage.

  • p) Provide financial consumers, in the terms stated by the Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia, through the respective channel and before performing the operation, the cost of this operation, if any, giving them the opportunity to perform it or not.

  • q) Have the electronic means and suitable controls in place to provide enough security for the transactions, the confidential information of the financial consumers and the networks that hold it.

  • r) Timely and diligent collaboration with the Financial Consumer Ombudsman, legal and administrative authorities and self-regulating bodies in the collection of information and proof gathering, when required, in cases such as fraud, theft or any other behavior that can constitute a punishable act, performed using a credit or debit card, through electronic or telephone transactions, or through any other means.

  • s) Not to ask the financial consumer for information that is already kept in the supervised entity or its agencies, branches or subsidiaries, without prejudice, of the requirement for the financial consumer to update their information that is thus required according to the corresponding regulation.

  • t) Develop financial education programs and campaigns for its customers about the different products and services provided, rights and responsibilities of these, and the costs of the products and services that are provided, markets and types of supervised entities, as well as the different mechanisms established for the protection of their rights, according to the instructions issued by the Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia for such purposes.

  • u) Others included in this law, related, complementary, regulatory legislation, those that result from the nature of the contract executed or the service provided to the financial consumers, as well as the instructions issued by the Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia while carrying out its duties and self-regulating bodies in their regulations.

Almaviva performs services that adapt to our customers’ needs, therefore, the rates are subject to the specifications of each operation.

Almaviva’s service contracts will be adjusted according to the service conditions requested by the customer, keeping in mind that our offers are adjusted to customer insight and the specific needs of their sector and activity.

Note: Find our service features in the What We Do site in our Webpage.

You can tell us your claims, observations or suggestions:

Starting on January 1, 2011, we implemented the Financial Consumer Service System (SAC) for you and your company. According to Law 1328 of 2009, the system seeks to reinforce the proper service and protection for financial consumers. For more information we invite you to check the Financial Consumer Ombudsman link in our webpage: www.almaviva.com.co www.almaviva.com.co

Almaviva S.A.’s Financial Education program, which is aimed at employees and customers of this entity, covers the development of virtual activities such as sending communication, internal as well as external, about our portfolio of products, newsletters with the new legal legislation and customs regulations. Also, updated information about our different products in the webpage www.almaviva.com.co

Apart from that, we provide face-to-face training for our customers about the different subjects that address the supply chain and where we present and teach our financial consumers about our products. With this program, our company looks to instruct and promote the proper use of the products and services offered by our organization.

We invite you to know and/or reinforce your knowledge about the financial products offered by General Bonded Warehouseso Download here

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