What is a financial services provider
Financial services providers are businesses that manage money on behalf of customers. They include
- banks, credit unions and other consumer finance companies
- credit-card companies, e-money issuers and other payment institutions
- insurance companies
- investment firms (e.g. stock brokers, asset managers, portfolio managers or investment advisers)
What to do if you have a complaint
FIN-NET may be able to help resolve your complaint out of court if
- you live in the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway, and
- you have a complaint against a financial services provider in another of those countries
Follow these 3 steps to resolve your complaint.
1. Write to your provider
First try to solve the problem yourself by writing directly to your financial services provider. Explain clearly why you are unhappy, and tell them what you would like to do.
2. Fill in the FIN-NET form
If you are unhappy with your provider's answer – or if you receive no answer – then download and fill in the FIN-NET form for cross-border complaints.
You can also directly contact any FIN-NET member and ask them for guidance. Find contact information for all the members in each country here.
3. Send the form to a FIN-NET member
E-mail or post the form to any FIN-NET member in either
- your own country, or
- the country of your provider
Find contact information for all the members in each country here.
What happens next
The FIN-NET member will tell you whether they are able to resolve your problem, or they may refer you to another organisation that can help you. You may be asked for additional information to assess your case properly.
Most FIN-NET members can help you free of charge or at a low cost. They usually reach an outcome within 90 days.
Financial services providers are usually not obliged to follow the decisions of FIN-NET members, but most do tend to do so voluntarily.
If they do not, or if you are not satisfied with the way your complaint has been handled, you may need to go to court.