Complaints against the regulators

A regulator cannot consider complaints about the firms it regulates. If you have a complaint about a firm, you should first raise it with the firm. If you are unhappy with the outcome, you may be able to make a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).

Complaints about the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) or the Bank of England

The Complaints Scheme covers complaints about the way in which the regulators have carried out, or failed to carry out, their ‘relevant functions’ including complaints alleging: a) mistake and lack of care; b) unreasonable delay; c) unprofessional behaviour; d) bias; and e) lack of integrity. More detailed information on the Scheme’s coverage and the regulators’ ‘relevant functions’ can be found in the Complaints Scheme which was updated on 1 November 2023.

Please note that the regulators (the PRA, the Bank of England, and the Financial Conduct Authority or FCA) can only investigate complaints about themselves, not each other. 

The Scheme also sets out situations where we cannot investigate. For example, we cannot consider: 

• complaints about firms we regulate. We do not investigate personal issues with bank/insurance companies, such as a banking account problems, home or motor insurance claims or personal pensions. If you have a complaint about a regulated firm, you should initially raise this with the firm itself. If the firm cannot resolve the matter directly, you may be able to make a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). Additionally, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme can consider claims for compensation regarding certain firms; 
• complaints about our rules or guidance; or
• complaints about other regulators such as the FCA or other authorities such as the FOS or FSCS.

Anyone can make a complaint if they are directly affected by the matters they complain about. A complaint must be made within 12 months of you having become aware of the matters that gave rise to it, unless you can demonstrate reasonable grounds for delay. The full text of our scheme can be found on the following page:

The Complaints Scheme

Other types of complaints 

The Bank of England prudentially regulates and supervises financial services firms in the UK through the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). We work closely with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the regulator responsible for regulating the conduct of UK financial services firms. If you have a concern about the conduct of a UK  firm, you should contact the FCA's consumer helpline on 0800 111 6788 or you can visit the FCA's Contact us page 

If you are making a complaint relating to the question of whether a Recognised Clearing House (RCH) or Recognised Central Securities Depository (RCSD) should remain a recognised body, and you are not making a complaint about the regulators, you should write to: 

FMI Information
Bank of England
FMI Supervision Directorate, MG-SE-3
20 Moorgate
London EC2R 6DA

How to make a complaint against the regulators

There are several ways you can contact us if you want to make a complaint regarding the PRA or the Bank of England. You can also submit complaints about the FCA to us and we will ensure the relevant regulator handles it. You can:

• Email us at complaints@bankofengland.co.uk

• Download a printable form (PDF) and post it to us, or send us a letter using the following address:
  Complaints against the Regulators 
  Bank of England
  20 Moorgate
  London EC2R 6DA

We want to make sure you can make a complaint and communicate with us effectively. If you have a physical or mental impairment that impacts how you access our information and services and/or you need information in a different format such as audio recording, large print, or spoken word, please email or write to us and we will do our best to meet any reasonable adjustments required. Please also see our Accessibility Statement.

We know the issues leading to a complaint can be frustrating or distressing. Please be polite to our colleagues, as we do not tolerate abusive behaviour towards them. 

What will you do once I have made a complaint?

We will acknowledge complaints in writing within five working days of receipt. Within four weeks of receipt, we will tell you whether or not we intend to investigate your complaint, including the anticipated timescale for dealing with it.

In any event, we will endeavour to provide you with a substantive response to your complaint as soon as possible. We aim to complete investigations within eight weeks of receipt. However some more complex cases may take longer. We will write to you every four weeks to keep you informed of the progress of your complaint.

We will liaise with the FCA to ensure the appropriate regulator handles your complaint or where a joint investigation is appropriate. You can contact the FCA directly via its Complaints website or the FCA Complaints webform.

What happens if I am not happy with the outcome?

If you are not happy with the outcome of your complaint, you can contact the Office of the Complaints Commissioner  (the Commissioner). The Commissioner provides an independent assessment of the investigation made under the Scheme. You must contact the Commissioner within three months of receiving our decision letter, or our letter informing you that we will not investigate the complaint.

The Complaints Commissioner publishes their response to each complaint they deal with. In some cases the Commissioner will ask us to respond to their findings. Our responses are published here:

Privacy Notice

Information we collect

When you submit a complaint to the regulators, the Bank of England (‘we’ or the ‘Bank’) collects personal data about you. 

We may also collect information from other areas of the Bank that you may have interacted with, where those interactions may be relevant to your complaint.

This information may include contact details, professional information, financial information, location-based information, or information about your health, criminal background, race, sexuality, gender, political affiliations, age, or religion. This will depend on the level of information you have chosen to provide in relation to your complaint. You only need to provide information to us that you believe is relevant to the circumstances of your complaint.

Why we need your personal data

We collect your personal data to handle your complaint and to be able to communicate with you. Details of the Complaints Scheme are set out in the Scheme document.

If you do not provide the information, then we will not be able to consider your complaint. We may however use the circumstances of your complaint to consider whether our processes worked properly and whether we should do anything to address those findings.

What we do with your personal data

We use the information to send you emails/letters or to telephone you, dependent on your preferences. The information may also be used as facts within the complaints investigation. We may also share this information with the FCA if we believe your complaint may relate to the FCA’s objectives or should be addressed by more than one regulator. We will only share your information with the Office of the Complaints Commissioner if you have contacted them directly and asked the Commissioner to review your complaint.  

We only process your personal data in the United Kingdom. Safeguarding your personal data is important to us. Your personal data will be stored on secure Bank systems with controlled access; more information on our security practices can be found on our website. 

We will hold your personal information on our systems for as long as is necessary for the relevant activity. If your complaint is not within the scope of the Complaints Scheme (for example if it is a complaint about a financial institution rather than the regulators) then we will endeavour to return any documents you have provided to us, so we do not have a record of any unnecessary personal information). You can request that we no longer use your personal data, by writing to us at the address below.

Your rights

You have various rights under data protection laws. For example, you may have the right to have your personal data rectified or erased. In addition, you can ask us to change how we process or deal with your personal data. 

You also have the right to ask us for a copy of the personal data the Bank holds about you. This is sometimes known as a ‘Subject Access Request’.

To contact us about those rights, including making a request for the personal data we hold about you, please contact us on:

The Information Access Team (HO-M)
Bank of England
Threadneedle Street
London, EC2R 8AH
Email: enquiries@bankofengland.co.uk

If you are not satisfied with our response or believe we are processing your personal data not in accordance with the law you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) via their website.

More information

The Bank’s Data Protection Officer can also be contacted via the details above. Our privacy policy is also available via the ‘Privacy’ link at the bottom of our website.