Bank Dispute Departments Rules and Regulations
Dear Sirs,
1. Background:--
A) I was disappointed that, when I contacted the FCA telephone line today, I was advised by a member of staff and her Manager that I should make a complaint to my service provider about a £1.50 per month payment fee charged by a service provider to pay by debit card.
B) I had contacted my banks Visa Debit Card Disputes department who could not advise me of their role and what rules and regulations they operated within. I was pointed to a document with more than 500 pages on the Visa website that did not answer the question and I do not have the facts I need to consider whether making a complaint would be appropriate.
C) I duly contacted the FCA to ask the same question and neither of the members of staff knew the answer. I was asked repeatedly whether the £1.50 payment surcharge was within my contract. I repeatedly pointed out that Paragraph 4 of the Consumer Rights (Payment Surcharges) Regulations 2012 states:
"A trader must not charge consumers, in respect of the use of a given means of payment, fees that exceed the cost borne by the trader for the use of that means.".
D) I wish to raise a dispute with my bank over the £1.50 charge of my Service Provider who, unless I pay in full each month (including the payment surcharge), will bar my line and suspend my internet connection. As I have to pay the £1.50 per month in the first place, I feel that my only recourse is to attempt to claim it back through my bank. My bank had no idea what the rules and regulations were surrounding whether I was entitled to raise a dispute but nevertheless said that I wasn't. When I asked the Lady at the bank why, she advised me that it was her "personal opinion" but couldn't relay any of the rules or regulations to demonstrate that she had applied them) and nor could the FCA.
2. The FOI Questions:--
A) As an organisation governing (among other institutions) a bank's conduct, what are the rules and regulations about what is and isn't considered a payment dispute where payment has been made by Visa Debit Card? (Please refer me where I can find any rules and regulations and to sections and paragraphs of relevant sections and);
B) Can a bank refuse to investigate (in my case they have refused to)?
3. This is not a complaint in itself because:--
A) I will be raising an internal complaint with the FCA about the poor quality of advice that I received today;
B) This request does not provide identifiable details of either the Advisors, the Bank or the Service Provider.
4. This is not a request for legal advice because:--
(A) I am not asking for your opinion (although i'd welcome you providing it) - simply the relevant sections of the rules and regulations.
I look forward to hearing from you and thank you for your time.
Kind Regards,
Mx Benjamin-Elijah Gareth-Bailey
Principal Advocate,
Gareth Group Law
Sent within the terms and legal position available from the Gareth Group Website (FAQs).
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Thank you for e-mailing the Financial Conduct Authority's Information Access Team. This is an automatic acknowledgement to tell you we have received your email safely. Please do not reply to this email. We wil be in touch in due course.
This communication and any attachments contain information which is confidential and may be subject to legal privilege. It is for intended recipients only. If you are not the intended recipient you must not copy, distribute, publish, rely on or otherwise use it without our consent. Some of our communications may contain confidential information which it could be a criminal offence for you to disclose or use without authority. If you have received this email in error please notify [email address] immediately and delete the email from your computer. Further information on the classification and handling of FCA information can be found on the FCA website (http://www.fca.org.uk/site-info/legal/fc...).
The FCA (or, if this email originates from the PSR, the FCA on behalf of the PSR/the PSR) reserves the right to monitor all email communications for compliance with legal, regulatory and professional standards.
This email is not intended to nor should it be taken to create any legal relations or contractual relationships. This email has originated from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), or the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR).
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is registered as a limited company in England and Wales No. 1920623. Registered office: 25 The North Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London E14 5HS, United Kingdom
The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) is registered as a limited company in England and Wales No. 8970864. Registered office: 25 The North Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London E14 5HS, United Kingdom
Switchboard 020 7066 1000
Web Site http://www.fca.org.uk (FCA); http://www.psr.org.uk (PSR)
Dear The Financial Conduct Authority,
Hello, please could I request an internal review as you have not responded to my FOI Request.
Many thanks.
Yours faithfully,
Mx Benjamin-Elijah Gareth-Bailey.
Thank you for e-mailing the Financial Conduct Authority's Information Access Team. This is an automatic acknowledgement to tell you we have received your email safely. Please do not reply to this email. We wil be in touch in due course.
This communication and any attachments contain information which is confidential and may be subject to legal privilege. It is for intended recipients only. If you are not the intended recipient you must not copy, distribute, publish, rely on or otherwise use it without our consent. Some of our communications may contain confidential information which it could be a criminal offence for you to disclose or use without authority. If you have received this email in error please notify [email address] immediately and delete the email from your computer. Further information on the classification and handling of FCA information can be found on the FCA website (http://www.fca.org.uk/site-info/legal/fc...).
The FCA (or, if this email originates from the PSR, the FCA on behalf of the PSR/the PSR) reserves the right to monitor all email communications for compliance with legal, regulatory and professional standards.
This email is not intended to nor should it be taken to create any legal relations or contractual relationships. This email has originated from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), or the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR).
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is registered as a limited company in England and Wales No. 1920623. Registered office: 25 The North Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London E14 5HS, United Kingdom
The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) is registered as a limited company in England and Wales No. 8970864. Registered office: 25 The North Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London E14 5HS, United Kingdom
Switchboard 020 7066 1000
Web Site http://www.fca.org.uk (FCA); http://www.psr.org.uk (PSR)
Dear Mr Gareth-Bailey,
Thank you for contacting the FCA recently. I understand that you would
like information about complaint handling rules after you had a payment
dispute with your bank.
I would like to confirm that after consideration your request is being
dealt with as business as usual as opposed to a FOI request. I do also
understand that you had a conversation about your query with a manager and
a subject matter expert within the contact centre but you would also like
a response to your query in writing.
As you have raised two queries I will respond to these in the order they
were raised.
As an organisation governing (among other institutions) a bank's conduct,
what are the rules and regulations about what is and isn't considered a
payment dispute where payment has been made by Visa Debit Card ? (Please
refer me where I can find any rules and regulations and to sections and
paragraphs of relevant sections)
We do not have rules about what is considered a payment dispute where
payments have been made by Visa Debit Card therefore I am unable to refer
you to any applicable rules or regulations. The rules that we do have
regarding complaints handling are set out in our [1]dispute resolution
sourcebook (DISP).
Can a bank refuse to investigate (in my case they have refused to)?
Our rules in DISP say that banks should handle complaints fairly. We do
not have rules that say banks must investigate specific complaints but if
they refuse to do so they should communicate the reason why clearly. They
should also outline relevant next steps consumers can take such as
contacting the [2]Financial Ombudsman Service.
I hope that this information is of assistance. Thank you once again for
contacting the FCA.
Yours sincerely,
John Bradwell (Mr)
Associate | Customer Contact Centre
Financial Conduct Authority | [3]www.fca.org.uk
Consumer Helpline: 0800 111 6768
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References
Visible links
1. https://www.handbook.fca.org.uk/handbook...
2. http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/
3. http://www.fca.org.uk/
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