How to file a complaint

In this section you may verify whether a dispute can be submitted to the Banking and Financial Ombudsman and, if so, what you must do in order to file a complaint.

You can also find out what happens after a complaint is filed.

Use the ABF Web Portal to file your complaint: for further information, you can also see the Guide on how to use the Web Portal. The ABF Web Portal is a simple and interactive tool that assists users in filing a complaint through a specific guided procedure and allows the user to manage the whole procedure. You may file a complaint personally. If you wish to avail yourself of a representative a power of attorney may be drafted using the templates provided (only available in Italian).

Once you have filed a complaint, you can interact with the ABF through the Web Portal, which provides a range of functions and also allows you to verify the status of your complaint and to receive the defence brief from the intermediary and the decision of the Panel.

To access the ABF Web Portal and register, click on 'Reserved Area' in the upper right-hand corner.

To obtain detailed information on the status of your complaint, bear in mind that on the Web Portal you can always check the progress bar (see the Guide on how to use the Web Portal).

You may also file a complaint in hard copy but only in the cases listed below:

• against two or more intermediaries at the same time;
• against a foreign intermediary operating in Italy under the rules on the freedom to provide services;
• against a loan guarantee consortium, pursuant to Article 112(1) of the Consolidated Law on Banking.

When a complaint is filed in hard copy, the 'complaint form' may be filed, together with all the relevant documents, by mail or fax to the competent Technical Secretariat or to any other branch of the Bank of Italy, or it may be presented in person at one of the branches of the Bank of Italy open to the public.

Remember that if you file a complaint in hard copy in cases where it is not allowed, the ABF will not be able to take it into consideration.