All banks, retail associations and federal trust, loan and insurance companies must, by law, have a complaint-handling process in place for consumers. If you have a complaint or a problem with a federally regulated financial institution, you can take the following steps to resolve it.

First, you should try to resolve the problem directly with the manager or customer service representative of your financial institution. This would involve dealing with branch staff or the branch's local representative.

If your complaint cannot be resolved at the branch or local level, it may be referred to a senior staff member or an internal ombudsman.

In most cases, if your complaint has not been resolved to your satisfaction, you can have it reviewed by a third party. This service is non-binding and is available to any individual or small business with a complaint.

• For banks and trust companies, you may contact the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI)
• For concerns and complaints about life and health products and services issued by life insurance companies, contact the Canadian Life and Health Insurance OmbudService (CLHIO)
• For problems concerning home, car and business insurance, you can contact the General Insurance OmbudService (GIO)

In some cases, depending on the type of financial institution you deal with, you may also contact your provincial regulator. For a list of the regulators in your province, please visit the Other Regulators section of our Web site or call us toll-free at: 1-866-461-3222.

Part of FCAC's role is to ensure that financial institutions have a complaint-handling process in place. If you are having difficulty finding out about your institution's complaint-handling process or if you are experiencing delays when using it, call us toll-free at the number above. However, please keep in mind that FCAC does not provide redress or compensation and that we cannot get involved in individual disputes.

Click here to learn more about how we handle complaints.

For more information on complaint-handling, you may also consult CFSON's Complaint Information Kit. This kit outlines the basic steps for making a complaint about a financial product or service and gives tips on what to do at each step. It also provides specific steps for each industry, as well as a sample letter and a Complaint Organizer. In addition, the kit contains a link to the financial module of Industry Canada's Complaint Courier, if you wish to make your complaint on-line.