Complaints to the Banking Ombudsman

When you make your complaint to the Banking Ombudsman, how should you present it?

The Office of the Banking Ombudsman has various leaflets and notes to help you - there's also a Web Site with up to date information. These general comments may also be of some help.

  1. The Ombudsman has to make a decision whether your dispute is within his remit before he will get involved. He must also decide whether your bank had enough opportunity to sort the matter out internally, or whether he should refer you back to them for further discussion.

    According to his annual report the Ombudsman declines or refers back more than 80% of the applications he receives.

  2. DON'T therefore waste your time or his in sending in copies of every piece of correspondence which you have exchanged over several years.


DO

  1. SUMMARISE your position and your problem neatly, preferably typed on two sides (or less) of A4 paper.

  2. EXPLAIN why you are unhappy with your bank

  3. SPECIFY what you feel they have done wrong - the Ombudsman cannot forinstance intervene in 'commercial decisions' about how much to lend or whether to lend at all, and what rates to charge; he needs to know whether your problem is something he can deal with.

  4. TELL him what you want. An error corrected, payments returned, damages awarded. List out your claims and add the amounts of any payments you expect to be made.

The Office of the Banking Ombudsman will acknowledge your enquiry and ask for any additional information or copy documents they may require.

Remember that in normal circumstances you must have a Letter of Deadlock from your bank before the Ombudsman can look into your case. If they refuse or delay in providing you with such a letter, we see no reason why you should not go to the Ombudsman immediately. Give the bank a reasonable period - say two weeks - to reply to a letter to their head office, -and then report the matter directly to the Ombudsman.

If you have any problems with your complaint, tell the Ombudsman - and the Independent Review Body, who look after the Code of Banking Practice. Don't be sidetracked into correspondence or meetings unless you are sure that your complaint is being dealt with properly.

If in doubt, talk to us.

 

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