Complain to your bank first. For most complaints it has up to 8 weeks to send a final response, or 15 days for complaints about fraud and scams, payment services and electronic money. If you are unhappy with the answer, or it is late, you can take your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service for free, within 6 months of the final response.
Key points
✓For most complaints, a bank or other financial business has up to 8 weeks to consider your complaint.
✓A business has only 15 days to consider complaints about fraud and scams, payment services such as bank transfers or direct debits, and electronic money.
✓You need to complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service within 6 months from the date on your final response.
✓The ombudsman's service is free. You do not need to pay a lawyer or claims management company to represent you.
✓For complaints referred from 1 April 2026, the ombudsman can award up to £455,000 for an act or omission on or after 1 April 2019.
How do you complain to your bank?
1
Contact the business
Tell the bank what has happened or what the problem is, and how you would like it to put things right.
2
Find its complaints process
You can usually find it on the bank's website, in its terms and conditions, in other paperwork it has sent you, or from its customer service team. The FCA register also has contact details for regulated financial businesses.
3
Keep a record
Keep a note of calls, emails and anything else that supports your complaint, such as conversations and letters.
4
Say if you are vulnerable
Tell the bank as soon as you can if, for example, you are severely ill, in financial difficulty or need help urgently. It may be able to look at your complaint more quickly.
How long does a bank have to reply to a complaint?
Type of complaint
Time the business has
Most complaints
Up to 8 weeks
Fraud and scams, payment services such as bank transfers or direct debits, and electronic money
15 days
Under the FCA's complaint rules, the 15 day limit for payment services and electronic money complaints is 15 business days. In exceptional circumstances outside its control, the business can send a holding response within that time explaining the delay, and must then send a final response within 35 business days.
The final response tells you the outcome and how to take the complaint further. Read it carefully and keep it, because the ombudsman will ask to see it. If you were tricked into sending money, our guide to bank transfer scam refunds covers the reimbursement rules.
When can you go to the Financial Ombudsman?
You can ask the Financial Ombudsman Service to investigate if:
✓Yes: you have had a final response and you are not happy with the outcome
✓Yes: the business has had the time it needs and you have not had a reply
You need to complain to the ombudsman within 6 months from the date on your final response, and the response must tell you about this limit. The ombudsman also cannot usually look at a complaint made more than six years after the event, or, if later, more than three years after you became aware, or should have become aware, that you had cause to complain.
The ombudsman can still consider a late complaint if the delay was the result of exceptional circumstances, or if the business consents.
How much does it cost to complain to the ombudsman?
Nothing. The service is free, and you do not need to pay anyone, such as a lawyer or claims management company, to represent you. A family member or friend can help you. You can complain using the online complaint form, or call the helpline on 0800 023 4567, 8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.
The ombudsman asks people who use AI tools to check what they send carefully. AI can get things wrong or add legal-sounding arguments that slow your complaint down.
How much can the Financial Ombudsman award?
The maximum award depends on when you referred the complaint and when the problem happened.
Complaint referred
Act or omission before 1 April 2019
Act or omission on or after 1 April 2019
On or after 1 April 2025
£200,000
£445,000
On or after 1 April 2026
£205,000
£455,000
The limits go up each year on 1 April in line with inflation, rounded down to the nearest £5,000.
Is the ombudsman's decision binding?
If you tell the ombudsman you accept its final decision within the time it gives you, the decision is final and binding on you and the business. If you do not accept it in time, you are treated as having rejected it, and neither side is bound. The ombudsman aims to answer complaints within 90 days, but complex cases can take longer.
Does this apply across the UK?
Yes. The Financial Ombudsman Service is the scheme set up under Part 16 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, which extends to England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. If your complaint is about a card payment, our guides to chargeback and Section 75 claims explain what your card provider must do. Our consumer guides cover the rest.
Know Your Rights UK. "Financial Ombudsman Complaint: How to Complain About a Bank." Know Your Rights UK, https://www.knowyourrightsuk.com/consumer/bank-complaints