Complaints

We’re serious about resolving your complaint.

At Santander, we value strength and quality of our relationships with our customers. They’re at the heart of all we do and our approach is simple.

We work hard to keep customers happy but realise that sometimes things don't go well. Telling us when you’re unhappy is important. It means we have a chance to put things right. It also allows us to improve the service we offer in future.

We’ve explained below how to make us aware of a problem. You can find this information in our ‘How to complain’ leaflet too.

Please make sure we have your contact details. This means we can get back in touch if we need to discuss the matter with you further. A daytime telephone number or your mobile number is preferable.


How to make a complaint

You can tell us about your concern in any of these ways:

  • Calling your local Relationship Team
  • Calling our Client Services team*
  • Providing details of your concern to us in writing
  • Sending us a secure message through Santander Connect (our online banking service).


You’ll find our contact detail in the ‘Our contact details’ section below.

*For information on call charges please see call charge information.


How we'll handle your complaint

We'll do everything we can to resolve your concern promptly and fairly. We commit that:

  • We'll listen to you
  • We'll contact you if we need more information; and
  • Where we've made a mistake we'll put things right for you.


Sometimes we can resolve your complaint within three business days after the day we receive it. We'll send you confirmation of the outcome, and let you know about other dispute resolution services.

For more complex issues we may need more time to investigate your concerns. If this is the case, we'll send you an acknowledgment letter. This will explain the next steps and when you can expect to hear from us.


Our final response

We’ll complete a thorough investigation. We'll then provide you with a final response. This letter will include the details of our investigation. It will tell you how we reached our decision and what we're going to do to put things right.


Timescales

Complaints relating to payments in or out of your account

These include complaints about making or receiving payments on your current account or instant access savings account.

  • We'll send you our final response as soon as we've completed our investigation. We have 15 days to resolve these complaints
  • We’ll write to you to let you know if we need longer than 15 days
  • If there are exceptional circumstances, we may take longer than 15 days to investigate your complaint. However, we’ll resolve all payment complaints within 35 days
  • We'll also send you details about how to refer the matter to the Financial Ombudsman (if eligible) if you’d prefer not to wait for us to finish our investigation.


All other complaints

We'll send you our final response as soon as we've completed our investigation.

We'll keep you informed in writing along the way. This is so you'll know when to expect to hear from us. 

If we haven't been able to complete our investigation after 56 days, we'll send you a letter letting you know and explaining what steps you can take. These will include letting you know if you can use the Financial Ombudsman Service (if eligible) if you'd prefer not to wait until we've completed our investigation. 


Seeking legal advice, using a claims management company or a third-party firm to make a complaint

You can use a solicitor or a claims management company or a third party, such as a financial adviser. We’ll look into the issue you’ve raised in exactly the same way. When deciding whether to use one of these companies, it may be helpful to know:

  • We won’t charge you to investigate your complaint
  • We won’t be liable for any fees incurred if you decide to use a third party to handle your complaint
  • We’ll generally only make a payment directly to you if the complaint is upheld and we pay any redress. We usually won't send the payment to the company you've used.


Following our response

If you don't agree with our resolution of your complaint, you can get back in touch with us using any of the options mentioned above. You may be entitled to refer your complaints to either the Financial Ombudsman Service or the Business Banking Resolution Service.


The Financial Ombudsman Service

The Financial Ombudsman Service acts as an independent and impartial organisation which helps settle disputes between consumers and financial services providers. You can find out more about the Financial Ombudsman Service and whether you might be able to refer your complaint to them:


The Business Banking Resolution Service

You may be able to refer your complaint to the Business Banking Resolution Service (BBRS).

The BBRS is an independent organisation set up voluntarily by participating banks to resolve disputes.

The BBRS is free to use and has different eligibility considerations to the Financial Ombudsman Service. For further information, please refer to their website, thebbrs.org or call them on 03456 468 825. Alternatively, you can write to the BBRS, 100 St Paul's Churchyard, London, EC4M 8BU.

For Corporate and Commercial customers, if the alternative dispute resolution services are unable to review your case, you may have the right to seek Legal Advice. We’ll fully support any investigations if you do decide to take this option. If you’re unsure of your rights then please speak to a member of the Santander Corporate & Commercial complaints team who will be able to advise you further.

Our contact details

Contact our Complaints team free on 0800 028 0078.
We're available Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.
Calls may be recorded or monitored.

Contact your Relationship Team

Write to us at:

Santander Corporate & Commercial Banking
Complaints Team
Sunderland
SR43 4GZ

Or call our Client Services team free on 0333 207 2229.
We’re available Monday to Friday, 8am to 5:30pm.
Calls may be recorded or monitored.

Send us a secure message via Santander Connect (our online banking service).