Banking and payments
If you have a complaint about a financial business that provides banking and payment services – such as a bank, building society or payment transfer company – we can help.
How we handle complaints about banking and payments
We see a variety of complaints about banking and payment services, for example current accounts or regular payments like direct debits, or where there’s been an IT problem that has meant customers can’t access their accounts. We look at the facts and circumstances of each individual complaint.
We’ll make our decision about what happened using evidence from you, the financial business and any relevant third parties. To reach a decision, we'll also consider what was, at the time of event, any:
- relevant law and regulations
- regulator’s rules, guidance and standards
- industry codes of practice and – where appropriate – good industry practice.
Once we’ve considered everything, we’ll set out our findings, explaining whether we think the business has treated you fairly. If we think the business has treated you unfairly, we’ll set out what we think needs to be done to put things right.
Complaints we see
Bank accounts
We can help with a wide range of problems about bank accounts including issues in opening the account, administrative problems and delays, charges and account closures.
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What happened
Company A was a startup company needing to open a business current account. The bank it approached agreed to open 1 and the directors visited a branch to set it up. After their visit, there followed a series of delays. The directors had to visit the branch 3 more times, and spent many hours on the phone chasing things up.
The bank account was eventually opened but it took another month before the directors received online access.
The directors complained to us about the delays.
The bank said that, as the company was newly formed, there were more procedures to be followed and that took time. It pointed out that it did not commit to any deadline to open the account.
What we said
We acknowledged that there was no firm deadline binding the bank in the time it took to set up the account. However, the bank knew the urgency for Company A and the directors had made clear to the bank the consequences of any delay.
Our investigation showed that the delay was due to administrative failures by the bank. So, we decided the bank was responsible for any loss the company had suffered as a result.
Company A said that without an account they couldn't start their operations. They said that they’d had to engage external consultants to rework their business plan and that cost them £1,500. They provided us with evidence which demonstrated these consultants had been needed to mitigate the effects of the delay. So, we said the bank should reimburse that cost of £1,500 to the company, and pay a further £500 for the inconvenience this matter had caused.
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What happened
Company B’s bank wrote to them saying that it would be conducting an internal review of their current account. 2 weeks later, the bank wrote again asking that they provide certain information. The bank said that this information should be provided within 90 days to avoid account closure.
After sending 2 further reminders, the bank blocked Company B’s account at the end of the 90 days. It said that this was because the requested information hadn’t been provided.
Company B contacted the bank the next day and said that it had never received the information requests. The bank unblocked the account and asked that they provide the information within the next 30 days.
However, the bank closed the account at the end of the 30 days, stating that it still had not received the requested information.
Company B complained to us. They said that they had provided the information within the specified timeframe. They were also unhappy with the length of time it took the bank to return their balance.
What we said
We said that the bank was entitled to carry out its internal review. It gave adequate time to Company B to provide the information. Though Company B said that it did not receive the initial requests, we found that there was sufficient evidence demonstrating that it ought to have received them. We also believed the bank had acted fairly in agreeing to provide additional time to Company B. Finally, though Company B said that it had provided all the requested information, we found that it had only partially complied with the request.
With regard to the period to return their funds, we noticed that there was a small delay. However, the bank had acknowledged this and paid interest up to the date of payment together with £200 for the inconvenience caused to the business. We concluded that this was a fair outcome.
Disputed transactions
Most bank transactions are completed successfully but sometimes things go wrong, and you may dispute having made or authorised a transaction. If you can't settle the matter directly with your bank, we can take an independent look.
Read more about disputed transactions and fraud and scams.
Merchant card services
These complaints relate to where a business takes payment by card and something has gone wrong. We typically see complaints relating to one of the following:
- Chargebacks – where the merchant acquirer claws back a payment after a cardholder has (successfully) raised a dispute.
- Withholding of funds – where the merchant acquirer won’t release money to the merchant.
- Complaints about the merchant acquiring agreement – including what was agreed, how long for, and charges.
- Hire and operation of the card reader and other equipment.
- Data protection and compliance fees.
How to complain
Bringing a complaint to us is straightforward and won’t cost you anything. Find out more about our process and making a complaint to us.
How long it takes
Read more about when you can expect to hear from us once we’ve started to investigate your complaint.