How to apply / how to make a Complaint

There are three main steps you have to follow when making a complaint, those are as follows:

	Step 1 - Make the complaint at the Branch or Office which provided the service.
	Step 2 - Contact/write to the “Complaints Resolution Officer” or “Complaints Settlement Officer”
	Step 3 - Make a complaint to the Ombudsman to resolve your dispute.
	Other useful information

Step 1 - Make the complaint at the Branch or Office which provided the service

As a first step, make the complaint at the Branch or Office which provided the service.

At each of the branches and offices situated outside the Head Office, each institution has designated officers to whom you can talk or write to about your complaint. Please ask for the “Complaints Resolution Officer” or “Complaints Settlement Officer” at the Branch. He/She will help you and attend to you.

Step 2 - contact/write to the “Complaints Resolution Officer” or “Complaints Settlement Officer”

As a second step, if you are not satisfied with the way in which your complaint was dealt with at the Branch, please contact/write to the “Complaints Resolution Officer” or “Complaints Settlement Officer” at the Head Office of the financial institution and he/she will attend to you.

Step 3- Make a complaint to the Ombudsman to resolve your dispute

As a third step, if your complaint cannot be resolved even by the Head Office staff, you will be informed in writing and then you are quite entitled to make a complaint to the Ombudsman to resolve your dispute.

Every complaint to the Ombudsman must be in writing and signed by the Complainant. It must also be accompanied by a fee of Rs.250/= (Two hundred and fifty rupees) which can be paid by cash, bank draft, personal cheque, money order or postal order. If the complaint is successful or partly successful, that fee will be refunded. If not, it will be forfeited and the Complainant cannot ask for a refund.

If requested in writing by the Ombudsman and by you, the financial institution concerned will make available all documents/correspondence relating to the complaint/dispute to the Ombudsman.

No financial institution can give any information to the Ombudsman about you or your complaint unless you give it permission to do so in writing. Unless they have your written approval, they have to honour the secrecy requirements of the Banking Act to maintain confidentiality about customer’s accounts.

Other useful information

Form “A” is a standard form that you can follow when making a complaint to one of the Financial Institution's Branch or to the Head office.

Form “B” may be used when making a complaint to the Ombudsman.

These forms can be found on Application forms page in this web site.

Please read the Rules/Requirements carefully, because they will apply to all complaints. Unless these Rules are satisfied, your complaint may be rejected without an Inquiry.

Everyone wants to make the Ombudsman Scheme a success. One way to do this is to observe these rules.

Also, please consult this web-site of the Ombudsman . This web-site contains these Rules and all other information about the Ombudsman Scheme, including the standard forms which you can use to make any complaint. We advise you to look at the web-site before making a complaint.