Bank Complaint

[ListenLinda]

Hi.
I’m in the process of beginning a formal complaint with one of my bank accounts.
In summary, an error on their part put me in a worse financial posistion and caused a fair amount of emotional stress during my second high risk pregnancy.
On top of that they added overdrawn charges onto my account and the balance has been sat at negative for some time now.
Out of the blue after months of radio silence they are sending me daily texts saying I need to bring my account into credit. Anyway, by the by.
I’m just wondering, do I lay out my complaint and see how they will resolve the issue?
Or do I clearly state, I would like them to do X and Y and if they wont, I will take it to FOS?
I have never made a complaint before so I’m not sure what to do here.

Any advice welcome! Thanks

I had something similar recently. I sent an email to the complaints department outlining their many errors and told them what I expected in order to resolve the issue which was to write off the debt.
I had written down all the conversations I'd had with them and they didn't have a leg to stand on. The compensation they offered covered the original error - basically they had miscalculated leaving me owing more than they originally stated so although I still had to make the payment, the compensation covered it.
I did also refer to the ombudsman but since the bank resolved it I have told the ombudsman I'm not taking it any further.

@Whatisgoingdown if you wouldn’t mind disclosing, did your bank give you goodwill compensation outside of the losses you incurred?

Your situation sounds very similar to mine. I emailed but haven’t heard back yet.

OP, I explained the issue then listed all the dates/times I contacted them and the (poor) outcomes to evidence my point. I didn’t give them an ultimatum but I did ask them to resolve the issue ASAP.

You can just call or write to their complaints team outlining their error and the resolution you want and they will investigate it. No matter the outcome, you’ll have the rights to go to the FOS however FOS would always want you to go to the bank first and get a final resolution from them before referring it to them.

@throwaway100000 the compensation I received was pretty much what was outstanding, it was around £270 altogether. It was more the principal for me and the appalling way I was treated, lack of response etc.
I referred to the ombudsman because it had gone on for more than 8 weeks without resolution and they were not responding in what I felt was a timely manner.

Thanks all. I didnt know if i should state that i would like compensating etc as that would be too forward.
At the very least, I would like them to refund the interest & charges, bring the account into credit and remove any negative entries for my credit report.
I have all the information, dates, what i requested etc so that’s good.

Don’t mention the pregnancy it’s irrelevant to the complaint in hand. Stick to the facts, don’t ramble, provide evidence where you can. Don’t exaggerate and don’t ask for compensation. Ask them to put right what they did wrong, so restore credit rating, refund charges etc. Anything else they give is a bonus.

IME (and I am a regular complainer if I get ripped off for anything) they will give you compensation if you have a valid complaint, simply to draw a line under it and by way of considering the matter closed.

I also have found financial institutions are really very good at addressing the complaints they receive. —HMRC are appalling slow and poor—

I agree with @HaggieMaggie.

I’ve always found that outlining what I want for them to rectify the situation gives quicker resolution.

I think that if it’s not unreasonable they tend to just follow your request.

Do keep the emotion out, cold hard facts work better my friends often send me their complaint letter for review as my success rate is good.

Good luck.

Thanks for the advice about sticking to the facts, I wasn’t going to mention the pregnancy anyway I was just giving some context as to what happened really :)

Under the complaints regulations, they have 8 weeks to resolve the complaint or issue you with a final response letter. If at 8 weeks they either haven't resolved the complaint to your satisfaction or issues the final response, you can take the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman's Service (FOS). The bank will be looking to avoid this as they get charged for every complaint that goes to FOS regardless of the outcome.