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Making a complaint

Introduction

Glossary

Legal validation: 15/06/2010

Making a complaint

However careful consumers are, things can go wrong. What should you do? How should you complain?

Making a Complaint When Things go Wrong

This factsheet is based on the advice provided to consumers by the Financial Regulator on it’s website www.itsyourmoney.ie

Do you have a complaint ?

A problem may not be anyone’s fault. For example, you may invest in a product that doesn’t grow as fast as you’d hoped. The fact that investments grow at unpredictable rates, and can fall as well as rise in value, is not usually a valid reason for a complaint. Unless, that is, you weren’t warned about these risks.

Other cases when a financial product or service may have turned out badly because the firm you dealt with did something wrong include :

you’ve been charged unexpected or excessive charges ;
you’ve lost money because of the firm’s slow administration ;
there’s a dispute over who’s at fault if money is stolen from an account ;
you were given incorrect or misleading information about a product ; the firm didn’t draw attention to a particularly strict condition in the contract ;
the firm hasn’t done what you asked them to do ; or
you haven’t been given enough notice about changes to a contract.

Whatever the reason for your complaint, you’ll want to get matters put right.

What to do if you are unhappy with a financial product or service

Sometimes you may be unhappy with a financial product or service that you have bought or are trying to buy. If this happens, it’s best to contact the firm straightaway and ask them to put things right. Most firms regulated by the Financial Regulator will have a formal and free complaints service. The Financial Regulator sets out three steps to making a complaint.

3 Step plan to Making a Complaint

Step 1: Talk to the Provider

Try to sort out your complaint with your provider first. Talk to the person you normally deal with, as soon as possible. This could be your local branch manager, your broker or your pension scheme administrator. You can also contact the firm’s customer care department. Explain the problem and state clearly what you want - an explanation, apology or specific action. Tell them how they can fix the problem for you. Many problems can be sorted out quickly and simply in this way. But if you are not happy with the response, you should make a formal complaint.

Step 2: Complain Formally to your Provider

All financial services firms regulated by the Financial Regulator must have a complaints handling system in place under the Consumer Protection Codes of the Financial Regulator. Ask for the name of the person you can contact to make a formal complaint. If the person you are dealing with is not sure how to handle your complaint or where to direct you, ask to deal with a manager or supervisor.

You can make a complaint in person or by telephone, but a written complaint is usually most effective because you can keep copies of your correspondence with the firm.

Make sure you include your account, policy or reference number when you contact your provider. Set out the facts, the relevant dates and the names of people you dealt with. Again, be as clear as you can about the solution you want.

Attach copies of any relevant documents and always keep a copy of everything for yourself.

Your provider must write to you within 5 business days of receiving your complaint. They must give you details of a person you can contact, and they can’t let more than 20 business days go by without letting you know how your complaint is being dealt with.

If they do not resolve your complaint within 40 business days they must:

let you know how long more they expect it will take to resolve

let you know of your right to refer the matter to the Financial Services Ombudsman or Pensions Ombudsman and

give you contact details of the relevant ombudsman.

At this point you can wait for the firm to resolve your complaint or you can go to the relevant ombudsman scheme. When the firm resolves your complaint, if you are not happy with how they fixed the problem you still have the option of taking your complaint to an ombudsman.

Step 3: Refer your Complaint to an Ombudsman Scheme

These are independent complaint schemes that deal with financial services complaints and are free of charge to consumers.

An ombudsman:

decides if the scheme can deal with your complaint
weighs up the evidence from you and your financial institution or broker, and recommends a solution
may give you compensation if you have suffered financial or other loss.

Depending on your complaint, you may refer the complaint to either the:

Financial Services Ombudsman who deals with complaints about a firm that offers you services or products and is regulated by the Financial Regulator or

Pensions Ombudsman who deals with complaints against pension administrators. This scheme only deals with complaints that relate to occupational pension schemes and PRSAs and how these have been administered.

Any decision made by the Financial Services Ombudsman or the Pensions Ombudsman is binding on you and the financial services firm. Both you, and the firm you complain about, have the right to appeal an ombudsman’s decision to the High Court. But you can only appeal to the High Court - you cannot take your case to court once you have referred it to an ombudsman scheme.

Similarly, if you have already taken a case to court, you cannot then refer your complaint to an ombudsman scheme.

Types of complaints

If you want to make a complaint about a regulated financial services provider, follow the 3 step plan to making a complaint set out above. But you may want to make a complaint on other grounds:

Equality law If you feel you have been or are being discriminated against by a financial institution on the grounds of age, gender, disability, marital status, family status, sexual orientation, religion, race or membership of the travelling community, you should contact the Equality Authority.

Credit history By law, financial institutions must ensure that information they hold or give to anyone else about your credit history is correct and up to date. So you can insist that they correct any personal finance information about you that is wrong. If you find a mistake in your record, ask your lender to write to the Irish Credit Bureau (ICB) with details of the change, and request a copy of the letter.

Please note that the ICB cannot change your record unless a lender requests it to do so. If you experience problems or delays or if your lender fails to put things right for you, you can make a formal complaint to the Data Protection Commissioner or the Financial Services Ombudsman.

For further information

The Financial Regulator, established in 2003 by the Irish Government, is Irelands financial services watchdog. Its role is

to provide consumers with impartial information to help you make informed decisions about your personal finances
to protect consumers in their dealings with firms
to regulate firms that provide financial services in Ireland.

Contact details:

Consumer help-line lo-call 1890 77 77 77
Drop In Information Centre: 6-8 College Green, Dublin 2
Website: itsyourmoney.ie

Pensions Ombudsman This pension ombudsman deals with complaints about any person responsible for managing your employer pension scheme or PRSA.

Contact details:

Office of the Pensions Ombudsman, 36, Upper Mount Street, Dublin 2
Tel: (01) 647 1650
Email: info@pensionsombudsman.ie
Website: www.pensionsombudsman.ie

Financial Services Ombudsman The financial services ombudsman deals with complaints against financial services firms, including financial advisors. This includes banks, building societies, credit unions, insurance companies, credit intermediaries, investment firms and brokers. Products covered under this scheme include banking, mortgages, loans, savings, investments, insurance and personal pension plans.

Contact details:

Financial Services Ombudsman’s Bureau, 3rd Floor, Lincoln House, Lincoln Place, Dublin 2
Tel: Lo-Call 1890 88 20 90 or (01) 662 0899
Email: enquiries@financialombudsman.ie
Website: www.financialombudsman.ie

Equality Authority

Contact details:

Public Information Centre Address: Public Information Centre, The Equality Authority, Birchgrove House, Roscrea, Co. Tipperary,
Telephone: Locall 1890 245 545
Fax: +353 505 22388
Email: info@equality.ie
Website: http://www.equality.ie/

Data Protection Commissioner

Contact details: