CBS reminds public on bank service complaints |26 August 2010

The bank is reminding consumers that procedures to handle complaints about banks are set out in the Regulations on Complaints Handling  – available on the Central Bank of Seychelles’ (CBS) website at http://www.cbs.sc/bankslegislation.html – which were issued in 2008.

It said customers have a right to express any dissatisfaction they feel with the services or products provided by a bank.

A complaint should be made directly to the bank concerned, which should make a reasonable attempt to investigate it in a fair, consistent and prompt manner.
Normally the complaint is expected to be resolved within one day, but in more complex cases the bank should respond to the client within 21 days of receiving a complaint.

If this is not possible, the client should be told why the bank has not been able to meet the deadline and when it expects to provide the response.

Complaints made directly to the Central Bank will be forwarded to the relevant bank for action in line with these regulations. If the complaint is unresolved, or the person is not satisfied with the response provided by his bank, it can ask the bank to forward the complaint to the CBS.

Bank charges have been one of the main areas of concern to the public lately, the CBS said, adding that in a competitive environment it cannot dictate such charges, though they are expected to be reasonable.

Since the law requires that banks notify their customers of the terms and conditions associated with products and services, the Central Bank is encouraging the public to shop around for the best option. 

The public can thus make it their personal responsibility to find out the terms and conditions attached to a bank’s products or services. When doing so, it is important to establish whether the terms and conditions are fixed or subject to change.
The complaints procedure also applies to bureaux de change, the CBS said.