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This information applies to England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
What kind of service should you get from your bank?
Terms and conditions
When you open an account with a bank or building society and use their services, you are entering into a contract with them. You can find out the exact terms and conditions of your contract with the bank or building society by looking at the paperwork they send you when you open an account. The terms and conditions will also be in notices displayed at the bank and leaflets produced by the bank. All written terms and conditions should be in plain language.
The terms and conditions will cover things like:
- what bank charges you have to pay - see under heading Bank charges
- what happens if you go overdrawn
- what interest the bank pays you on your savings
- what interest you must pay if you take out credit with them.
Terms and conditions change from time to time. If a change to the terms and conditions of your account is to your disadvantage, the bank or building society should tell you personally about the change at least 30 days before the change is made.
At any time up until 60 days from the date when they tell you about the change, you can switch accounts or close your account without giving notice and without having to pay any extra charges.
If a change is not to your disadvantage, they don't have to tell you about it in advance. However, they must tell you about it at least 30 days after they've made the change.
If there is a major change or a lot of minor changes in any one year, your bank or building society should provide you with a copy of the new terms and conditions or a summary of the changes.
What the law says
As well as the terms and conditions of your contract with a bank or building society, there are certain things the law says your bank or building society must do. A bank or building society must provide its services:
- with reasonable care and skill. This means, for example, that they must act responsibly and keep accurate records of your finances
- when it says it will. If they don't give you a specific time, they must carry out the service in a reasonable time. What is reasonable would depend on the service the bank was carrying out. For example, it should give a decision about your loan application within a couple of days
- at the price agreed. If a definite price has not been agreed, the price must be a reasonable one.
Also, it's against the law for a bank or building society to discriminate against you because of your race, sex, disability, religion or sexuality. If you are discriminated against for one of these reasons, you may be able to complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service – see under heading What to do if things go wrong. It may also be possible to take a case to court.
A bank or building society is allowed to discriminate against you for other reasons, for example, they may refuse to let you open some types of account unless you fall within a certain age-group. This is age discrimination, but it is not against the law.
The Banking Code
Your bank or building society may have signed up to the Banking Code. This Code sets out minimum standards of service for banks, building societies and credit card companies providing personal banking services to their customers. A bank, building society or credit card company doesn't have to sign up to the Code, but if it does, it must follow the Code's standards of service. Most of the larger banks and building societies have signed up to the Code. You can get a list of the banks and building societies which have signed up to the Banking Code, as well as a copy of the Code, from the website of the Banking Code Standards Board at: www.bankingcode.org.uk.
If it has signed up to the Banking Code, your bank or building society must act fairly and reasonably in all its dealings with you. This includes if you get into in financial difficulties. If they don't keep to the Code, you can complain using the bank or building society's own complaints procedure and, if you're still not satisfied, you can complain to the Financial Services Ombudsman – see under heading What to do when things go wrong.
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Types of bank account
Current accounts
You can use a current account to help you manage your money day-to-day. This includes:
- paying your bills
- receiving money - such as your salary or benefits
- keeping track of where your money is going.
Some current accounts can also earn you interest on the money you have in the account, although this is likely to be less than many savings accounts.
With a current account, you will get a cheque book and guarantee card which you can use to take money out. You may also get a debit card which you can use in shops and cash machines. The bank may let you have an overdraft and access to other kinds of credit. You will be allowed to set up direct debits and standing orders.
Some banks will let you cash a current account personal cheque or use your cash card at the Post Office, free of charge. Ask your post office if you can do this free from your current account.
For more information about cheques, see under heading Problems with cheques.
For more information about cash machines, see under heading Problems with cash machines.
Basic bank accounts
If you have a poor credit rating or a low income, you may have problems in opening a standard current or savings account. You may also have problems if you already have a current account which is overdrawn. If you're in this situation, you may be able to open a basic bank account.
You can ask to open a basic bank account. Banks which have signed up to the Banking Code must offer you a basic bank account if they think this type of account is best suited to your needs.
For more information about the Banking Code, see under heading What kind of service should you get from your bank?
You may be refused a basic bank account if a credit reference check shows that you have previous bad debts of more than £500, or an outstanding court judgment against you.
Most basic bank accounts have the following features:
- you don't have to have any money to put in the account to open it
- you don't have to pay any fees
- you can pay your wages, salary, benefits and tax credits direct into the account
- you can pay in cheques and cash
- you can pay bills by direct debit
- you can withdraw cash through cash machines.
There are some disadvantages to having a basic bank account. These include:
- you won't be able to have a cheque book or go overdrawn
- if you've set up a direct debit and there's not enough money to pay for it, you might be charged for this.
Not all basic bank accounts can be accessed at the Post Office. If you want to be able to do this, check with the bank before you open a basic bank account.
If you have an overdraft or other debts on your current account and you open a basic bank account at the same bank, they may use the money in your new account to pay off the debts in your old one. If you get benefits, tax credit or state pension, you might want to think about opening your basic bank account at a different bank or building society.
You can get more information about basic bank accounts, including a table comparing the different types of basic bank account, on the Financial Services Authority's (FSA) website at: www.moneymadeclear.fsa.gov.uk. You can get versions of this information in large print, Braille or audio format from the FSA's Consumer Helpline on: 0845 606 1234 (Mincom/Textphone 08457 300 104).
Post Office card accounts
You can use a Post Office card account to collect benefits, tax credits and state pensions. You can't pay any other money in.
You can only get your money out of a Post Office card account with a plastic card and a PIN at the Post Office. You can't go overdrawn on a Post Office card account and you can't use your card in any cash machines.
For more information about PINs, see under heading Chip and PIN cards.
Savings accounts
You can use savings accounts to put away money that you'd like to save for the future, for emergencies or to buy expensive purchases like a new car or a holiday.
A savings account will give you interest on your money.
For more information about savings accounts, including a table comparing different types of savings accounts, visit the FSA's website at: www.fsa.gov.uk/tables.
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How to open an account
A bank or building society can refuse to open an account for you. They don't have to give you a reason, and there's nothing you can do about it.
Some groups of people such as ex-prisoners may find it particularly difficult to open accounts.
However a bank or building society isn't allowed to discriminate against you because of your race, sex, disability, religion or sexuality. If you are discriminated against for one of these reasons, you may be able to complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service – see under heading What to do if things go wrong. Also, you may be able to take a case to court.
A bank or building society is allowed to discriminate against you for other reasons, for example, they may refuse to let you open some types of account unless you fall within a certain age-group. This would not be against the law.
If you think you've been discriminated against by a bank or building society, you should get help from an experienced adviser, for example, at a Citizens Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
Before they allow you to open an account, the bank or building society will want proof of your identity including your full name, date of birth and address. You usually have to show the bank two separate documents that prove who you are, for example, your passport, and where you live, for example, a recent bill. If you don't have any of the documents that the bank wants, they should accept a letter from a responsible person who knows you, such as a GP, teacher, social worker or probation officer.
If you're bankrupt or have a record of fraud, you will not usually be allowed to open a bank account. Also, you may be refused permission to open a current account if you have a poor credit rating. However, if you're bankrupt or have a poor credit rating, you may be able to open a basic bank account – see under heading Types of bank account.
For more information about bankruptcy, see Bankruptcy in Credit and debt fact sheets.
You may have to be 18 or over to be able to open some accounts.
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Bank charges
Banks and building societies charge for some services. You will get details of these charges when you become a customer of the bank or building society or whenever you ask for them. If your bank or building society has signed up to the Banking Code, you must be personally informed at least 30 days in advance if any charges are increased or a new charge is introduced. For more information about the Banking Code, see under heading What type of service should you get from your bank?
Under the Banking Code, a bank or building society must give you at least 14 days' notice of the amount to be taken from your current or savings account for charges and interest.
If you aren't clear why a charge has been made, you should ask for an explanation and a breakdown of the charge. If you're still not satisfied and feel that the charge should not have been made, you can make a complaint – see under heading What to do if things go wrong. Senior bank or building society staff may be able to agree to remove all or part of a charge, so it may be worth asking them to do this.
Unfair overdraft charges
Banks charge when you go overdrawn without an arranged overdraft facility, when you go over any agreed overdraft limit, or when there isn't enough money in your account to cover a withdrawal, such as a cheque. This is called an unauthorised overdraft. Charges for unauthorised overdrafts are often very high. Many people have complained that they are unfair and have asked for refunds.
Because there have been so many complaints about unfair overdraft charges, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is taking a test case to the High Court. Until the outcome of the court case is known, it has been agreed that dealing with all complaints about overdraft charges will be placed on hold. To find out what happens now if you want to make a complaint about unauthorised overdraft charges or if you are someone who has already complained, go to the Financial Services Authority website at: www.moneymadeclear.fsa.gov.uk.
You can find sample letters for making a complaint about unauthorised overdraft charges on the Which? website at: www.which.co.uk.
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Problems with cheques
A cheque is a written instruction from you as the account holder to your bank or building society. It authorises payment from your account to whoever is named on the cheque (called the payee). A cheque must be signed and correctly filled in, otherwise the bank or building society may return the cheque unpaid.
If a cheque is crossed and marked 'account payee' or 'account payee only', it must be paid into the account of the person it's made out to. However, some companies offer cheque cashing facilities and they will cash a cheque marked 'account payee only'. They will charge you for this. If a cheque is uncrossed, or 'open', it doesn't have to be paid into an account. In this case, the payee can simply take the cheque to the bank and get the cash.
There are rules about how long it should take for a cheque to clear. These rules apply to cheques paid into current, basic and savings accounts.
In a current or basic account, it should take a maximum of two days after paying in a cheque, before you should start earning interest on the money paid in. You should be able to withdraw the money within four days (six days from a savings account) and after six days, you can be sure that the cheque won't bounce. These limits are the maximum you can expect, but you might be able to do these things sooner.
If a bank or building society has wrongly advised you that a cheque has cleared, you may be able to claim compensation from the bank if you've suffered any loss.
You can get more information about the clearing scheme for cheques from the website of the Association for Payment Clearing Services (APACS) at: www.apacs.org.uk.
Cancelling cheques
You can ask your bank or building society to stop a cheque, that is, refuse to pay out against a cheque you've written.
It's not against the law to stop a cheque. However, it is a criminal offence to hand over a cheque with the intention of stopping it later, although this can be difficult to prove. If you hand over a cheque knowing that the bank or building society won't pay the amount, that is, it will bounce the cheque, this is also a criminal offence.
If you buy something by cheque and then you stop the cheque, court action can be taken against you for the money owing.
You may wish to stop cheques from being paid from your account if your cheque or cheque book is lost or stolen.
If you want to stop a cheque, you should telephone the bank or building society immediately, giving details of the cheque. The telephone call should be confirmed in writing as soon as possible. You'll normally be charged for stopping a cheque. A stop will cancel the cheque completely, unless a shorter period is agreed, for example, if you wish to delay payment until you have enough money in your account.
You won't usually be able to stop a cheque which you have used with a cheque guarantee card. However, check the terms and conditions of your account as there might be circumstances when you can stop a cheque. You might have to pay a fee for this.
If a bank or building society pays out after a cheque has been stopped, they must repay the account holder. In certain circumstances, the bank or building society may try and get the money back from you, but you can dispute this. If you are in this situation, you should get legal advice.
For more information about getting legal advice, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, see Using a solicitor and, in Scotland, see Using a solicitor.
Bounced cheques
A bank or building society must pay out on (honour) any cheque you write out, provided there is enough money in your account or the cheque is within the limits of an agreed overdraft. A cheque which is not paid out is commonly known as a bounced cheque.
If the bank or building society doesn't pay out on a cheque when your account is in credit or within an agreed overdraft, you can take action against the bank – see under heading What to do if things go wrong.
If you don't have enough funds in your current account to cover a cheque but you do have enough in another account, for example, a deposit account, your bank may use these funds to cover it. However, your bank or building society doesn't have to do this if it chooses not to. A bank or building society may also treat the cheque as a request for an overdraft, which it may decide to agree to, depending on your credit history.
You should be careful about accepting a cheque from someone you don't know or trust for an expensive item, like a car. If a cheque is issued fraudulently or is found to be stolen, the money can be taken back even after it has passed through the clearing system. If this happens, you should contact the account holder's bank straight away. Banks don't always take back money and each case should be decided on the individual circumstances.
If a cheque is returned unpaid, you can try to recover the amount from the account holder. If you don't know the account holder's address, you could:
- write to the branch on which the cheque is drawn
- tell the police if you suspect fraud
- if the cheque is still not paid, you could consider going to court.
For more information about going to court, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, see Small claims or, in Scotland, see Small claims in the Sheriff court.
Lost or stolen cheques or cheque books
If you've lost your cheque book or cheque guarantee card or they've been stolen, you should phone your bank straight away. You should then confirm it in writing. Your bank or building society will need to know, if possible, the numbers on any stolen cheques.
Whether or not you'll be held responsible for a cheque that has been lost or stolen depends on whether the cheque was lost or stolen before or after you had written it out.
If your bank is holding you responsible for a cheque which has been lost or stolen, you should get advice from an experience adviser, for example, at a Citizens’ Advice Bureau. To search for details of your nearest CAB, including those that can give advice by email, click on nearest CAB.
If a cheque is lost in the post, you should complete a Royal Mail claim form, available at post offices, and stop the cheque. The Royal Mail will check whether the letter was delivered and should refund the charge for stopping the cheque. If the cheque has already been presented for payment, you may be held responsible.
For more information about how to complain to the Royal Mail, see Royal Mail - our service standards and code of practice.
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Direct Debits
A Direct Debit is an instruction to your bank or building society which allows an organisation to collect payments from your account.
This is done using a Direct Debit instruction. Payments can only be made to the named organisation.
If there are any changes to the amount to be collected or to the collection date, you should be given at least ten days notice.
If you don't have enough funds in your account to cover a Direct Debit payment, your bank may not make the payment. It doesn't have to tell you that the payment hasn't been made. If the payment is made, you may incur bank charges for any unauthorised overdraft – see under heading Bank charges.
If either the bank or the organisation collecting the Direct Debit makes a mistake, for example, by taking the wrong amount, you are entitled to a refund from your bank.
You may cancel a Direct Debit at any time.
If you have a problem with a Direct Debit, you should contact your bank.
You can get more information about Direct Debit from the bacs website at www.bacs.co.uk.
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Problems with cash machines
The same withdrawal is debited twice
If the same withdrawal is debited from your account twice, you should check first that you haven't made two separate transactions which have been debited on the same banking day. This is most likely to happen over a weekend or on a bank holiday. It may also happen if you used another bank or building society's cash machine. In this case, the transaction won't show on your statement until a few days after the date on which you made the withdrawal.
If you find that your account has been wrongly debited, you should contact your account manager. It will help if you have evidence to show that you didn't make the withdrawal. For example, you may have been on holiday and not near the cash machine at the time, or the withdrawal may not reflect your normal spending patterns.
It's up to the bank or building society to prove that you took the money, rather than for you to prove that you didn't.
You get less money than you asked for
If you get less money out of the cash machine than you asked for, this may mean that the wrong amount is debited from your account.
You should contact the manager at the branch where the machine is straight away or, if this isn't possible, your account manager. The bank or building society can confirm whether you got the wrong amount by checking the balance in the cash machine against its record of transactions. It may help if you have a witness who was present when you used the machine. It will also help if you made a note of the date and time of the withdrawal. If you got a receipt, you should keep it.
It's up to the bank or building society to prove that you got the right amount of money, rather than for you to prove that you didn't.
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Money is withdrawn without your knowledge
Wrong payments
If money is wrongly debited from your account by mistake, your bank or building society must refund the payment, along with any charges which you had to pay as a result. Money could be wrongly debited, for example, because the wrong amount of money is debited or a debit is made on a different date to the one you asked for.
Fraud
If you've lost your credit or debit card, or it has been stolen, you should tell your bank or building society straight away. If someone else uses the card before you've told the bank or building society that it has been lost or stolen, the most you will have to pay is £50, unless it can be shown that you have acted fraudulently or without reasonable care, for example by keeping your PIN number written down with your card.
Under the Banking Code, it's up to your bank or building society and not you to prove that you acted without reasonable care. However, you will be expected to cooperate with the bank's investigation into what happened. For more information about the Banking Code, see under heading What kind of service should you get from your bank?
These rules also apply if someone else uses your card without your permission when it has not been lost or stolen. This type of fraud is known as identity theft. It takes place when someone you don't know gets hold of your personal details or PIN number and uses them to access your account.
If you suspect you have been a victim of identity fraud, you should act quickly:
- contact the bank straight away. Keep a record of all conversations you have with them and copies of any letters sent or received
- report the matter to the police, and get a crime reference number
- check with the credit reference agencies whether any applications for credit have been made in your name. If they have, you can ask to have the information removed from your file
- if you suspect that someone has got hold of your details by stealing your mail, or has fraudulently applied to get mail redirected from your address, you should contact the Royal Mail Customer Enquiry Number on: 08457 740740
- contact CIFAS, the UK's Fraud Prevention Service at www.cifas.org.uk. For a small fee they will make sure that anyone applying for credit in your name is automatically double-checked.
For details of credit reference agencies, see Being refused credit in Credit.
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Chip and pin cards
Most payment cards such as credit cards, debit cards and cheque guarantee cards, are now ‘chip and PIN’ cards. They include a microchip for security purposes and you put a PIN (Personal Identification Number) into a keypad instead of a signature when you make a payment.
However, you may still be able to use a payment card with a signature in some circumstances, for example, if you have a card issued in another country or if you have a disability which makes it difficult for you to use a PIN.
If you have a disability and want to use your signature instead of a PIN, you should ask your card provider for a chip and signature card. When these are swiped by a shop assistant, a prompt will show that a signature should be accepted. There is more information about chip and PIN on the Chip and PIN website at: www.chipandpin.co.uk.
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Joint accounts
When two or more people decide to open a joint bank account, they have to sign a form called a mandate. This sets out which of the account holders can sign cheques or carry out other transactions on the account. If you want to change the terms of the joint account or to close it, either you or another joint account holder can cancel it at any time without the agreement of the others. However, it is possible to draw up a mandate which only allows you to change the terms of the joint account or to close it with the agreement of all the account holders.
There is no limit on how many joint account holders there can be.
Statements must be sent to all joint account holders individually unless all the account holders sign an agreement that they want to receive only one statement.
Joint account holders are not automatically authorised to use each other's credit. Credit must not be linked to the account of one of the account holders without the agreement of all the other account holders. This is because the other account holders would be responsible for the debt. If an overdraft has not been arranged, all the account holders should be told if an unauthorised overdraft occurs.
If you have your own personal account, the bank can transfer money out of it to cover a debt on another account which you hold jointly with other people. This may be done automatically, although in practice, banks will often ask your permission before transferring funds in this way.
However, the bank can't transfer money out of your joint account to cover a debt on your own personal account, unless all the joint account holders have agreed to this or the terms and conditions of your joint account say this can happen. If the terms and conditions say this can happen, your bank must have pointed this out to the account holders.
If there's a disagreement amongst the joint account holders, the mandate should be cancelled straight away. If the mandate isn't cancelled straight away, any one account holder will still be able to get access to the account and the bank won't be able to refuse to pay them.
If you cancel a joint account mandate, the account will be frozen. All the account holders will then have to come to an agreement about how to divide the money up between them. If it's not possible to agree, the courts will have to decide how to divide the money up.
If there's an overdraft on a joint account, each joint account holder is responsible for the whole of the amount owing.
In England and Wales, if all the people pay money into the joint account, it is assumed that they all own the amount jointly, regardless of how much each person pays in. For a husband and wife or civil partners, it is assumed the money in the account belongs to both of you, even if only one of you pays into the account. However, for joint account holders who are not married or civil partners, if one of them isn't paying in, it isn't assumed that they own the money. It can be difficult to prove that you own the money in a joint account if you aren't paying into it, unless you can show that it was the clear intention of the joint account to have a common fund which each person could use.
In Scotland, it is assumed that the money held in a joint account belongs to the person who paid it in unless it can be shown that it was intended to be held jointly. This rule applies whether the joint account holders are married, in a civil partnership or living together. In practice, all the joint account holders may be able to access all of the money, and any disagreement about who the money belongs to would have to be decided by the courts.
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Overdrawn accounts
If your account is overdrawn and then you get paid, your bank could try to use this money to pay off your overdraft without your permission. However, you've got the right to ask them not to do this and to pay other expenses first, such as your rent or mortgage. This is called first right of appropriation. You have to ask your bank to do this in writing. Make sure you write the words 'first right of appropriation' in your letter.
You'll need to write to the bank with new instructions each time you make a deposit.
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Overpayments to your account
If money is credited to your account by mistake, the bank or building society is usually entitled to recover the money, as long as they do this within a reasonable time.
There may be some circumstances in which you're allowed to keep the money, for example, if you didn't realise the bank had made a mistake and you spent the money in good faith. For you to be able to keep the money under these circumstances, you would have had to have spent it in such a way that it would be unfair to ask you to pay it back.
If you think the bank or building society is being unfair in asking you to repay the money, you can complain to the Financial Ombudsman – see under heading Further help.
If you do have to repay the money, you could try to come to an arrangement with the bank to pay back the money in instalments without further interest being added. In practice, a bank or building society will normally agree to this.
If you don't pay back money you owe to the bank, you could, in some circumstances, be prosecuted for theft.
For more information about how to deal with people you owe money to, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, see Help with debt or, in Scotland, see Help with debt.
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The bank or building society goes out of business
If a bank or building society goes out of business and you lose money as a result, you won't have priority for getting your money back. You will only get money back if the bank has any assets left after paying off it's priority creditors, and even then, you may not get all of the money you're owed.
If your bank or building society has no money left to pay you, you may be able to claim compensation from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). For more information about this scheme, see the FSCS leaflet How we can help at: www.fscs.org.uk.
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Changing your bank or building society
If you decide to change your bank or building society account, you should think about:
- what charges will be involved, for example, for closing your account or cancelling standing orders
- whether the services and facilities provided by the new bank or building society are better than those you currently get
- the fact that there may be delays in making payments by standing order or direct debit. You should take this into account when you decide the date for closing your account
- how long you will have to wait before you can use all the new bank or building society's services. For example, there may be a delay before you receive a cheque guarantee card.
You should open a new account before closing your old one and make sure you cancel any current standing orders or direct debits. Be sure to return any unused cheques or plastic cards (cut into pieces) to your old bank or building society.
If you are transferring a balance to your new account, make sure you have left enough money in the old account to cover any uncleared cheques.
Banks and building societies which have signed up to the Banking Code must co-operate with your new bank or building society to help the transfer of your account go as smoothly as possible. Your old bank or building society must give information about regular payments from your account within three working days.
For more information about the Banking Code, see under heading What kind of service should you get from your bank?
If there are mistakes or delays in the transfer process which lead to bank charges, you shouldn't have to pay for them.
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What to do if things go wrong
If you are not satisfied with the service offered by your bank or building society, you could decide to:
Complaints about banks and building societies
Before you make a complaint, check that the problem has really been caused by the bank or building society. For example, the bank or building society is not responsible if you give someone else your bank card and pin number and they use these to withdraw money without your consent – see under heading Money is withdrawn without your knowledge.
If you do have a genuine complaint, you should contact the bank or building society as quickly as possible. Make sure you keep a record of the date when you do this as it may be important if you want to take the complaint further.
Collect all your documents together, including details of the terms and conditions of your account, bank statements, cheque stubs and any other correspondence with the bank. If you make your complaint in person at the bank, take a copy of all your documents and ask to speak to the person responsible for dealing with your account or the branch manager. Alternatively, write to the branch manager, enclosing copies of your documents, and keep a copy of your letter. Explain your problem calmly but firmly and tell them what you want them to do about it, including any compensation that you would like them to pay you. You may want to claim compensation if you've lost money because of something the bank has done wrong, for example, if it has failed to pay a direct debit when you had enough money in your account to cover it.
If you aren't satisfied with the branch manager's response, you should ask for details of the bank or building society's complaints procedure. Follow each stage of the complaints procedure by writing to the person responsible with full details of your case. If your bank or building society has signed up to the Banking Code and has not followed the Code's standards of service, make sure you mention this. Say what you would like the bank or building society to do to put the problem right, including any compensation you would like them to pay you.
Banks who have signed up to the Banking Code should not close your account, or threaten to close your account, just because you have complained about them.
For more information about the Banking Code, see under heading What kind of service can you expect from your bank?
If you've gone through the whole complaints procedure and things haven't been sorted out in the way you would like within eight weeks, you can make a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service – see under heading Further help. You may be able to do this sooner if the bank sends you a letter of deadlock before the eight weeks is up. This is a letter which tells you there is nothing more the bank or building society can do to sort out your complaint.
You must complain to the Ombudsman within six months of getting the letter of deadlock, or from the end of the eight week period if you don't get a letter of deadlock.
If the Ombudsman can't sort out your complaint, your only other option is to consider going to court. However, going to court should be your last resort. Before you go to court, you need to think about whether you have enough evidence. You will also need to find out whether your bank or building society has any money. It's not worth taking a company to court that has no money. It is extremely rare for anyone to take a bank or building society to court. If you're thinking about doing this, you should get expert legal advice.
If you decide to take the matter to court before complaining to the Ombudsman, you won't be able to complain to the Ombudsman at a later date.
For more information about going to court, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, see Small claims or, in Scotland, see Small claims in the Sheriff court.
For more information about getting legal advice, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, see Using a solicitor or, in Scotland, see Using a solicitor.
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Further help
The Financial Ombudsman Service
If you've gone through your bank or building society's complaints procedure and they haven't been able to help you, you can make a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
You must give your bank or building society at least eight weeks to sort the problem out, unless they send you a letter of deadlock before the eight weeks is up. This is a letter telling you there is nothing more they can do to help you.
You must complain to the Ombudsman within six months of getting the letter of deadlock, or from the end of the eight week period if you don't get a letter of deadlock. Make sure you keep a record of the date when you first made your complaint to the bank.
You can contact the Financial Ombudsman on 0845 080 1800, or visit the website at: www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk.
For more information about the Financial Ombudsman Service, see How to use an Ombudsman in England, How to use an Ombudsman in Wales, How to use an Ombudsman in Scotland, or How to use an Ombudsman in Northern Ireland.
British Banker's Association
The British Banker's Association (BBA) is the main trade association for banks operating in the UK. It is one of the organisations which produces the Banking Code –see under heading What kind of service should you get from your bank.
The BBA is not able to deal with individual complaints, but they produce a range of free fact sheets which provide useful information about banking. These include understanding cheques and understanding plastic cards.
You can view the fact sheets on the BBA's website at www.bba.org.uk. You can also phone the order line on 020 7216 8801 and leave your name, address and the title or subject of the fact sheet you want.
Banking Code Standards Board (BCSB)
Your bank or building society may have signed up to the Banking Code. If it has, it must follow the Code's minimum standards of service. If your bank or building society has failed to follow the minimum standards of service in any way, you can report them to the BCSB.
The BCSB won't be able to get involved in your individual case or award you compensation. However, it may be able to launch a formal investigation into the bank if, for example, a large number of other customers have also been affected by the same problem or if they think the bank has deliberately decided not to follow the Code.
The investigation can result in disciplinary action being taken against the bank or building society.
Where a bank, building society or card issuer has made a less serious mistake, the BCSB can ask them to put the mistake right as soon as possible.
The BCSB can also give you advice about how to sort out your problem, or how to go about claiming financial compensation.
You can phone the BCSB on 0845 080 1800. To visit their website, go to: www.bankingcode.org.uk.
Financial Services Authority
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is the watchdog for the UK's financial services industry.
They aren't able to get involved in individual complaints, recommend firms or give legal or financial advice. However, they do produce useful information about financial products such as bank accounts, including comparison tables for diffferent savings accounts. Their Consumer Contact Centre can answer general enquiries about financial products and services. Their Consumer Helpline is 0845 606 1234 (Minicom/textphone – 0845 730 0104). Their website is www.moneymadeclear.fsa.gov.uk.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission
The Equality and Human Rights Commission may be able to help you if a bank or building society has discriminated against you, for example because of your sex, race, disability, sexuality or religion. In England, Wales and Scotland, you can find useful information on their website at: www.equalityhumanrights.com. In Northern Ireland, you can find information at: www.equalityni.org.
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