Contact Us
Other contact details:
Australian Bankers' Association
Level 3
56 Pitt Street,
Sydney NSW 2000
Telephone: +61 2 8298 0417
Facsimile: +61 2 8298 0402
HOW DO I RESOLVE A PROBLEM WITH MY BANK?
Sometimes, you may have a problem with a product or service you receive from your bank.
Under the Code of Banking Practice, your bank must have a procedure in
place to deal with complaints. Your first move should be to contact your
bank and see if they can deal with your complaint. In many cases, the dispute will be resolved internally by the bank with no further action required.
However, if your bank doesn’t resolve the dispute to your
satisfaction, you can take your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman
Service (FOS), which is an external dispute resolution scheme.
Use the following steps to try to resolve a problem with your bank:
Step 1: Contact your bank and tell them about your problem
A customer service representative should be able to assist when you
first contact the bank. If your bank can’t resolve your problem then and
there, it will take the following steps:
a. let you know who is handling your complaint;
b. keep you informed of what is happening;
c. aim to resolve your complaint within a specified time. Fortunately,
most complaints can be quickly sorted out at this stage. If this is not
the case, you may need to go to step 2.
Step 2: Make a formal complaint to the bank
Your bank will have a process for handling formal complaints. There may be a Customer Relations Manager or Complaints Manager who will investigate the complaint. The
bank will notify you of the name and contact details of this person.
Some banks have Customer Advocates who can make an independent
assessment of your complaint and help achieve a quick and
unbiased solution.
If the dispute cannot be resolved to your satisfaction internally, your
next move is to take your complaint to an external dispute resolution
scheme for independent review.
Step 3: Make a complaint to the Ombudsman
The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) is an independent complaints
scheme that is free for consumers. It provides an accessible way of
resolving disputes, without having to go to court. The decision of the
FOS is binding on the bank. Only go to the FOS after
you have tried to resolve things with your bank, as the FOS will not deal with your complaint unless you
have first given the bank the chance to put things right.
Refer your complaint to:
The Financial Ombudsman Service
GPO Box 3, Melbourne, Victoria 3001
Telephone: 1300 780 808
Website:
www.fos.org.au