Complaints Procedure
What to do if you have a complaint
We set out to provide the highest level of customer service possible. However, if you ever experience a problem, we will always seek to resolve this as quickly and efficiently as possible. If something has gone wrong please bring this to the attention of any member of staff.
If you have a complaint
We are committed to providing products and services of the very highest standards. If you feel that we haven't lived up to your expectations in any way, we'd like to know so we can put things right for you.
Ways to complain:
- Inform your usual contact at the bank; make sure they know about your complaint and tell them how you think it could be resolved. We'll make sure we respond to you, usually within five business days.
- Call our Commercial Telephone Banking Centre on 0345 300 0268 7am-8pm Monday to Friday, 9am-2pm Saturdays. To call us from outside the UK call +44 131 549 8724. You can also contact us on Textphone 0345 300 2755. We're closed on all bank holidays.
- Not all Telephone Banking services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
- You can call us using Relay UK if you have a hearing or speech impairment. There's more information on the Relay UK help pages
- Sign Video services are also available if you’re Deaf and use British Sign Language.
- Bank of Scotland, PO Box 761, Leeds LS1 9JF.
We'll do all we can to resolve your complaint by the end of the next business day. If we can't do this, we'll write to you within five working days to tell you what we've done to resolve the problem, or acknowledge your complaint and let you know when you can expect a full response. We'll also let you know the name and contact details of the person or team dealing with your case.
Financial Ombudsman Service
The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) is a service set up by Parliament to resolve complaints between financial businesses and their customers.
In order to refer a complaint to the FOS, you must meet the FOS eligibility criteria. The FOS will consider complaints from:
- A private individual.
- A micro enterprise which has a group annual turnover, and/or balance sheet, of up to €2 million and fewer than 10 staff.
- A small business which has a group annual turnover of up to £6.5 million and fewer than 50 staff or a balance sheet total of less than £5 million.
- A guarantor that has provided a guarantee or security in respect of an obligation of a micro-enterprise or small business.
- A charity which has an annual income of less than £6.5 million.
- A trustee of a trust which has a net asset value of less than £5 million.
If you have a complaint and we haven’t issued our response within eight weeks from the date you first raised your complaint, or if you’re dissatisfied with our response, you can ask the Financial Ombudsman Service for an independent review. The Financial Ombudsman Service will only consider your complaint once you've tried to resolve it with us, so please take up your concerns with us first and we'll do all we can to help.
Further information on the Financial Ombudsman Service, including more detailed guidance on those who are eligible to complain, can be found on their website www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk or by telephoning 0800 023 4567 (if you’re calling from outside the UK call on +44 20 7964 0500) by emailing complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org.uk or by writing to:
Financial Ombudsman Service
Exchange Tower
Harbour Exchange Square
London