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Complaining about the banks: A beginner’s guide to finding out you have no rights
Rosie Rogers, used to be campaigns and policy intern
Bright-eyed and ready to save the world in one internship, I was ready to take on any challenge! As part of our new commodities campaign. I was asked to find out how to complain about Goldman Sachs (GMS). A simple task I thought…
FSA: "You have no rights"
First stop, the Financial Services Authority (FSA). I called the general enquiries number and was met with a friendly 'customer services' handler who was happy to answer my questions, but kept asking who I worked for and where I was calling from - my poker voice served me well!. I was told that the FSA don’t deal with formal complaints and that since I’m not a GMS customer, I 'have no rights'.
I was advised to make a formal complaint with GMS, then they had 8 weeks to respond and if the response was not satisfactory, I should take my case to the Financial Ombudsman Service who was ‘better equipped to deal with complaints’. I then stated to my previously friendly FSA buddy – who was now slightly fed up – that it’s ridiculous that only customers have rights, to which he reeled out some standard FSA statement about what the FSA can and can’t do. I was sent a standard leaflet on how to make a formal complaint and sent on my way.
Disheartened but not defeated, next on my hit list was the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS)
FOS: "There’s not much we can do"
Again with only the general enquires line on offer, I was greeted by another friendly (to begin with) customer services employee. They reiterated the FSA’s statements but with the added dimension that banks can invest their money in whatever they choose to and if I don’t agree with their ‘commercial decisions’ then the most I can do is choose to not invest my money in that Bank. I protested that GMS is not a high street bank so what is the most effective way to make a complaint? I was told that all banks must have a formal complaints process and that was the best route to go down, but that 'if I wasn’t a customer of the bank, there’s not much we can do'.
Now I had bigger fish to fry. Goldman Sachs.
Goldman Sachs: "No comment"
With only one contact number on the whole UK website I dialled and began to sweat a bit… I was surprised to find Goldman’s phones being answered by Catherine Tate’s Lauren "am I bovvered?" Cooper. I said I wanted to make a formal complaint and the receptionist said "no one has ever complained before, what do you want to complain about, who are you working for? Are you a journalist?" I said I was a concerned member of society and just wanted to know who I could talk to about making a formal complaint.
The receptionist and I then got into a repetitive table tennis match of her not knowing what to do, asking colleagues and trying to find out who I worked for and me being the intern sleuth that I am, simply asking 'how do I make a formal complaint?' over and over.
She eventually shouted at me in her Tate-esque manner "Look, what are you actually calling me for? What is it that you are actually complaining about? I don’t know what to do!" I, cool as a cucumber, asked her kindly to stop shouting at me – all I want to do is speak to someone about complaining about GMS. The line went dead.
Of course, I phoned again and a different receptionist answered (to which I pointed out the last receptionist hung up on me or that GMS should get a technician in as they have a faulty phone connection…) I was then passed onto four different people and called back three times that day by a kindly-sounding woman from the media department, and was told to write to the Head of Compliance to make a complaint – but that there is no way for 'outsiders' to make complaints about Goldman Sachs.
Bank of England: "We’re powerless"
In light of the ConDem strategy to hand power of bank regulation to the Bank of England (BoE), I decided to give them a go. I called the general enquiries number and was told that the BoE stopped regulating banks in 1998 and, that the FSA was the main body to speak to, and that the Bank is "powerless". They also said that all investment banks registered in the UK must have a complaints structure, overseen by the FSA licensing team.
FSA part 2: "It’s a shame banks can’t be monitored"
With my army of new information and determination I phoned the FSA to state GMS had no formal complaint mechanism. A lovely woman answered and told me that as a member of the public I do have the same rights as a consumer to make a complaint – but that GMS are not obliged to respond. She reiterated that GMS must have a complaint procedure for customers and that the FSA only deal with complaints from consumers not the general public. I thanked her and she ended our conversation with a sentence I could only dream of…"Sorry I cant be of more help, it’s a shame banks cant be monitored properly"
I think that says it all.
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Complaining about the banks: A beginner’s guide to finding
Complaining about the banks: A beginner’s guide to finding
Complaining about the banks: A beginner’s guide to finding
Complaining about the banks: A beginner’s guide to finding
Complaining about the banks: A beginner’s guide to finding
Complaining about the banks: A beginner’s guide to finding
Complaining about the banks: A beginner’s guide to finding
GMS
you have to be a banker to