complained to your bank, insurance company or finance firm – but still not happy?
making a complaint – the first steps
Your bank, insurance company or finance firm does not want unhappy customers. It's important that businesses providing financial services hear any concerns consumers may have – and put things right when needed.
This is why the business you think is responsible for a problem should have the chance to look into any complaint – before the ombudsman steps in and decides who is right or wrong.
But if you don't know who to complain to at the business, or you're unsure about anything, get in touch with us. We will contact the right person for you, telling them that you have a complaint they need to look into.
- call us on our consumer helpline on 0845 080 1800 or 0300 123 9 123 (office hours) – we'll be happy to phone you back, if you're worried about the cost of calling us; or
- email complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org.uk (we will usually be able to deal with phone queries on the spot – so phoning might be quicker than emailing us).
Here are some hints on the best ways of making sure your complaint is taken seriously.
making a complaint – what to do next
If you're not happy with how the business deals with your complaint, we may be able to help.
If you'd like us to look into your complaint, we will need you to fill in our complaint form. This will help us understand what exactly your complaint is about. We can help you fill in the form over the phone (call us on 0845 080 1800 or 0300 123 9 123). Or you can download the form below.
When you have completed our complaint form – please send it back to us by post. Your handwritten signature is important to show us that you understand and agree to the declaration at the end of the form. You will also probably have other documents that you need to post to us with your completed form.
We can provide information about our service in different languages and formats (for example, Braille, BSL, large print and audiotape). And we will do our best to help, if you have specific needs that affect your ability to complete the form. Email us about specific needs or phone us on 020 7964 0766.
our complaint form
complaint form – "Word" version
you can:
- print-off the form and fill it in by hand or
- save the form to your computer and complete it on screen – before printing it off and posting it to us with your handwritten signature (along with copies of any documents relevant to your complaint).
complaint form – PDF version
you can:
- print-off the form and fill it in by hand or
- complete the form on screen before you print it off and post it to us with your handwritten signature (along with copies of any documents relevant to your complaint). You may want to print-off a copy for your own records, in case this on-screen PDF version doesn't save to your computer.
complaint about payment protection insurance?
See our consumer factsheet for more details [opens in PDF format]
complaint about bank charges?
While we wait for important legal issues to be sorted out on unauthorised overdraft charges, we are putting complaints about these charges on hold. See our frequently-asked questions for more details.
mortgage endowment complaint?
If you are complaining about your mortgage endowment, we will ask you to fill in a special questionnaire about your mortgage arrangements as well as our standard complaint form. For more information about this, see our consumer factsheet on mortgage endowment complaints [PDF version opens in new window].