Your Right To Complain - Do You Know The Procedure?
While many in the UK are highly critical of the financial services sector, how many of us have actually ever complained? Do you know your rights? Do you know how and where to complain?
The surprising answer to many of the above questions is “noâ€, even though the UK has one of the most robust complaints procedures in Europe. All complaints about financial products / services should end up with the Financial Ombudsman Service (website address www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk) if the two initial parties are unable to come to an agreement.
How does it work?
In essence, you have right to complain about any product or service you receive, if you believe :-
· The advertising has been misleading.
· You have received a sub-standard service.
Initially you should complain to the organisation from which you acquired the financial product / service in question, and highlight your concerns. The organisation involved should then forward details of their internal complaints procedure to you (and details of the Financial Ombudsman Service), and arrange for a senior employee (independent of the situation) to investigate the case.  Â
Upon researching the case, the organisation should then forward their assessment and recommendations to you, in order to try and resolve the situation before going to the Financial Ombudsman Service. If the two parties are unable to come to a mutual agreement then you have every right to take your case to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
The Financial Ombudsman Service will then contact the complainant and the organisation in question for their understanding of the events. The Ombudsman will then arrive at a decision in due course, to which the organisation involved should adhere to.
As bank charge claims are currently in the news, you may wish to check out the Financial Ombudsman Service website (www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk) which has details of the procedure for reclaiming fees, and much much more.
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