I complained to my bank and they haven't replied.........................

[girlsmum]

I wrote to my bank and dropped in by hand a complaint on 19th Jan.

It was regarding having me in for a meeting to discuss waivering some bank charges whilst they tried to sell me loans, insurance and remortgages. After an hour they decided they couldn't help me as my husband has a business account and could only go through the business department - bear in mind here, I did not ask to go in they telephoned me under the pretence they could wipe my charges. Therefore wasting a precious hour of my time.

Anyway, I complained and they still haven't replied. Does anyone know if they have to reply and do they have to do so within a certain amount of time?

Thanks for your help......

i'm not entirely sure so .......... bump

Anybody.....?

bump?

I work for my local council and had to do a customer care course recently and I was told that if someone writes in the letter has to be replied to within 15 working days so that's 3 weeks.

Of course this may not apply to banks, may just be my place of work but still I think they should have got back to you by now, it's rude not to.

Have you had many bank charges?

Yes £90 in two weeks - my husband is self-employed and we normally experience hard times at this time of year.

The bank charges are not the problem. Its the waste of my time and then being told at the end of the hour to telephone in and speak to the Business Banking Department as the normal banking team are unable to help. The thing is I DID NOT ask for help - they telephoned me saying they could help wipe my charges if I went in.

I was wondering if there was an ombudsmen (?) who says banks have to reply to complaints within a certain amount of time.

Thanks for your replies so far.

i'm sure there's bound to be a banking ombudsman shall have a look see........

Thanks Fransmom, I wouldn't know where to start looking to find that out!

the best place to start is ask.com then work from there or even post in legals but i shall still look for you

oh good grief i really must look where i am first

right. def look at ask.com, make sure you tick the box that says uk sites only (otherwise you will end up somewhere in outer alaska)

then only look at the first few sites as they will have the most relelvant information and not direct you to anywhere you'd much rather not be

good luck x

Hi, just an update and a request for any opinions really.....

Checked the banks website it said upon receipt of a complaint they would confirm receipt within 48 hours and would clarify what they were going to do about it.

With this information, I rang my branch and asked what was happening with my complaint - the head of Customer Services knew nothing of my letter, so I ran through my complaint with her. She said she'd look into it and call me back.

I checked my answer phone later this afternoon and guess what?! The guy I had complained about is on my answering machine asking for me to call him back about my complaint about him!!

Still with me.....?

So is this normal? If you complain about someone - is it down to them to deal with it? I at least thought it would have been passed up?

I hope you understand this waffling thread, please does anyone have an opinion. Where should I go from here?

The usual process is to try to resolve the complaint within 48 hours. After this time it becomes a reportable complaint. They must then acknowledge your complaint in writing within 5 working days. They must issue you with a final response within 8 weeks of the date you made the complaint.

If at any stage you are unhappy with how the bank is handling your complaint, or if they fail to meet ANY of these deadlines, you can contact the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) for free. They will then contact the bank about your complaint. If you are unhappy with the outcome or the offer made by the bank, the FOS will look into your complaint and can suggest/force the bank to make a different offer.

HTH

I would guess that getting the guy you're complaining about to ring you, they are trying to solve it informally. It's not very professional really and I would say you're not happy with that and you want someone more senior to deal with your complaint. Also tell them you're contacting the Financial Ombudsman as they have failed to acknowledge your complaint appropriatelt.

Not sure about the complaints thing but Martin Lewis's website moneysavingexpert.com is good for advice on getting charges back from banks. They have a template letter to use.