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Complaint to your bank or another financial firm (UK)
England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales · in English · for consumers
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10 questions · about 4 min
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For a customer with a complaint about a bank, building society, credit card company, lender, pension or investment firm — a charge, a refused or wrong payment, poor service, a mistake or a mis-sold product. The letter is the formal complaint the FCA's rules require the firm to answer: within 15 business days for most payment-services complaints, and within eight weeks otherwise. After its final response, or once the time has passed, you can take it free to the Financial Ombudsman Service within six months.
- Made for use in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales
- Last updated October 28, 2026
- Document in English
Where a UK document reproduces the words of legislation or of a government publication — UK, Scottish or Northern Irish — it contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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When to use this document
- Your bank in the UK charged you a fee you do not accept.
- A payment from your account was blocked or went wrong and nobody is helping.
- A financial firm sold you a product that was never right for you.
- You want to make a formal complaint to your bank before going to the ombudsman.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Sender
- Sender's address
- Town or city
- Sender's postcode
- Date
- Bank or financial firm
- Firm's postal address (complaints team)
- Account number
- What the complaint is about
- Requested outcome
Common questions
- How long does a bank have to reply to a complaint in the UK?
- Eight weeks for most complaints. For complaints about payment services, such as card payments, transfers and Direct Debits, 15 business days, or up to 35 in exceptional circumstances if the firm tells you why. If the deadline passes without a final response, you can go to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
- How much can the Financial Ombudsman Service award, and does it cost anything?
- It is free for consumers. For complaints referred from 1 April 2026, it can award up to £455,000 where the firm's act or omission happened on or after 1 April 2019, and up to £205,000 for earlier ones. If you accept its final decision, it binds the firm; if you do not, you keep your right to go to court.
- Is there a time limit for complaining about a financial firm?
- Generally you must complain to the firm within six years of the problem, or within three years of when you knew or should have known about it, if later. After the firm's final response, you have six months to go to the Financial Ombudsman Service, and the final response must tell you so.
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