Banking and financial disputes can easily become a painful hurdle for many, especially as they can cause wider disruptions to both your business and personal life.
There are a variety of disputes that can fall within the scope of a banking dispute, and these include, amongst others, financial frauds, disputed money transfers, card loss, unauthorized activities including unauthorized charges.
It is important that you raise an official complaint with the bank as a preliminary step; this will provide you with a record of the complaint and ensure proper procedures until the matter is resolved. Use the formal steps of recording a complaint with the proper reference number and with online written records, as opposed to making a complaint on the phone and expecting it to be resolved. Further, also ensure that you are reaching the right department within the bank; for example, there exists a separate department for corporate banking and for personal banking, and each bank also has a legal department apart from a dedicated customer care division.
Raise a Complaint with the UAE central bank:
In some instances, internal resolution within the bank procedures might not be enough, and in such cases, you might consider escalating the complaint before the UAE Central Bank. The UAE central bank has a dedicated consumer protection department that functions to protect consumers from financial misconduct and provides resolution of complaints.
UAE Central Bank:
The Central Bank of the UAE is responsible for promoting financial and monetary stability in the region as well as ensuring the efficiency and resilience of the financial system. It constitutes the principal regulatory authority for banks and other financial institutes in the country (additional licensing and regulatory hierarchy might apply for certain financial institutions at each emirate level).
The UAE central bank further is responsible for providing effective policies that support economic growth as well consumer protection. The Consumer Protection Department works to protect consumers from financial misconduct through education, policy-making, and compliance monitoring, and tracking of complaints resolution.
Know your rights:
The Consumer Protection Department in the UAE central bank is responsible for resolving customer disputes against a given financial institution. This step should, of course, be taken after attempting for initial internal resolution with the concerned financial institution. However, if the complaint is not resolved even after thirty days’ time period or if you are not satisfied with the resolution then, the consumers can raise their complaint with the central bank. You are required to provide a written complaint with full details, including attaching all supporting documents such as receipts, bank statements and other relevant details to support your claim.
File Police complaint:
If you have been a victim of financial fraud, then along with taking the above steps, you should also institute a complaint with the police and obtain a report. The police departments in the UAE also have a specialized department that deals with e-crimes. You can place your complaint online or by directly visiting the e-crime division, and be sure to share all supporting documents such as receipts, bank statements and other relevant details to support your claim.
Know your rights and take proactive measures when dealing with banking disputes. The key takeaway when it comes to banking disputes is that prompt and effective legal steps go a long way in obtaining the desired results. Proactiveness goes a long way in this regard; this includes steps to constantly monitor your bank statement to ensure that your records are correct and to intimate any mistakes to the bank at the earliest.
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