Triodos Bank complaints procedure
Our complaints procedure is designed to deal with any expression of customer dissatisfaction fairly, consistently and promptly. If a customer is dissatisfied in any way with the provision of, or failure to provide, a financial service from Triodos Bank, we will try and find out why and resolve the problem immediately. If a customer is dissatisfied they will be actively encouraged to contact the appropriate department within the bank by phone, or in writing to discuss a resolution to their problem.
If it has not been possible to resolve a complaint immediately we will aim to do so by the end of the following business day at the latest. If we cannot agree a resolution immediately, we will tell customers what we are going to do and how long we expect our efforts to take. We will let the customer know the name and job title of the person handling the issue. Where appropriate a problem should be dealt with by a co-worker who was not directly involved in the initial complaint.
If, on receiving the proposed resolution to their problem, a customer is still not satisfied with our response, or the customer is not satisfied that we're resolving the issue in good time, they should be encouraged to phone or write to our complaints officer detailing the issue.
If it is not possible to resolve the issue at this stage the complaints officer will let the customer know the steps the bank is taking to solve their problem. The legal requirement for providing a final or 'holding' response to a complaint is four weeks but we aim to take no longer than five business days to provide a final resolution letter. In all cases we will provide a written acknowledgement during this period. This letter will include a copy of our internal complaints procedure and an explanatory leaflet detailing the role of the Financial Ombudsman's Service (FOS). The FOS settles individual disputes between consumers and financial organisations if they cannot be resolved between the two parties. Customers have six months to refer the complaint to the FOS.
We ask that customers acknowledge our final resolution letter if they agree with our resolution proposal. If we have not heard from a customer within eight weeks of sending this letter we will assume that they are satisfied with the proposed solution. At that point the matter will be considered closed. We ask for this acknowledgement as part of an effort to log information in detail about the nature and frequency of expressions of dissatisfaction. This allows us to identify problems at an early stage, make improvements to our services and prevent problems recurring. We are also obliged to report any complaints about our provision of, or failure to provide, a financial service to the Financial Services Authority (FSA)* who monitor our complaints procedure performance and ensure that we can co-operate, as necessary, with the FOS.
If a customer is not happy with the complaints officer's final response and would like to pursue the matter further we will refer them to the FOS using the information in the FOS explanatory leaflet. We will confirm that the customer has six months, from the date they receive the final resolution letter, to refer their complaint to the FOS.
Contact details for complaints
Contact Team: 0845 769 7239
Complaints officer direct line: 0117 980 9784
Or write to us at:
Triodos Bank
Deanery Road
Bristol
BS1 5AS
*Please note, under FSA rules, the following groups and individuals are covered by Triodos Bank's complaints procedure: businesses with an annual turnover of less than £1 million; a charity with an annual income of less than £1 million; a trustee of a trust with a net asset of under £1 million; an individual who is, or has been a Triodos Bank customer; a person who has not been a potential or actual customer but who has a complaint arising from giving a guarantee or security for a mortgage or loan, the owner of funds collected by us for someone else's account, the recipient of a banker's reference given by us, or a beneficiary under a trust or estate of which we are a trustee or personal representative.