Re:Why Banks Are Suddenly Closing Down Customer Accounts
by tjpnz on Sunday November 05, 2023 @10:42PM
(#38158588)
Same thing in New Zealand. If you can't get something worked out with your bank you complain to the ombudsman and the bank must respond. Sometimes, even the mention of a potential ombudsman complaint is enough to grease the wheels.
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Re:Why Banks Are Suddenly Closing Down Customer Accounts
by pilchard123 on Monday November 06, 2023 @08:48AM
(#38162510)
In some a case going to the Ombudsman costs the bank regardless of the outcome.
In the UK the first three cases in a year are free, but from the fourth onward the bank has to pay £750 [1]. It doesn't matter the outcome is - the customer could be totally innocent or the next Bernie Madoff - the bank has to pay. A customer saying "I will get the Ombudsman involved" is heard by the bank as "if we don't make this go away right now, we will get charged £750 (plus any compensation the Ombudsman may award)". It does tend to make them sit up and take notice, I hear, presumably because banks get a lot of complaints and so a large bill.
[1]: https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/businesses/resolving-...