Complaint to the bank or building society
Free, and normally answered within 8 weeks in writing. Ask for the whole advice file at the same time, not afterwards.
11 Bank-sold investments
Bank-sold investments: an appointment, a form, a signature.
Bank and building society investment sales have a recognisable shape: a branch or telephone appointment, an attitude to risk questionnaire, and a recommendation acted on the same day. The complaint is usually about whether that appointment was a real suitability assessment or a formality.
Short answer
Where a bank or building society recommended an investment, complain to that firm first. You can ask for the advice record, the attitude to risk questionnaire and the charges disclosure. If the firm does not resolve it, the Financial Ombudsman Service is free to consumers and can look at what was fair.
Indicators only. Not legal or financial advice. Not a prediction of outcome.
01 Is this you?
Tick what fits.
A claim is worth pursuing when the facts line up. These are the facts that matter most for this product. If three or more describe your situation, the checker is worth five minutes.
- The recommendation was made in a single appointment, with the investment bought the same day.
- A large part of your savings went into one product or one provider.
- You were sold a long-term investment while holding short-term savings with the same bank.
- The adviser did not ask about your other savings, debts or income.
- The difference between a deposit and an investment was never spelled out to you.
- You were moved out of an existing holding in the same group.
- The product was issued by the bank itself, and that was not made clear.
- You only realised the capital was at risk after the value fell.
02 How it works
How a claim works for this product.
Identify which firm did what
A bank group can include a bank, an investment arm, a platform and a discretionary manager. The complaint goes to the entity that gave you advice or sold you the product. Ask the firm, in writing, to confirm which legal entity advised you, and keep the answer.
Ask for the advice record
Firms are expected to keep records of the advice they give. Ask for the fact find, the attitude to risk questionnaire and result, the suitability report, and the charges disclosure. Where a firm says the sale was execution-only, ask it to explain what it did to make that clear to you at the time — that answer is often revealing.
Compare the sale with the customer you were
A bank holds a great deal of information about a customer: current accounts, savings, lending, and sometimes other investments. A recommendation that ignored what the bank already knew about you is a distinct and checkable complaint point.
Use the free routes before spending money
The firm complaint is free, and the Ombudsman is free to consumers and deals with large volumes of bank complaints. It decides on what is fair and reasonable as well as on the rules. Court is for larger losses or where a route is closed.
Be careful with the naming
This site names institutions only as places where a reader might have bought something. We do not report findings against named banks, and we will not do so unless a regulator, court or the Ombudsman has published that finding and we can cite it.
03 The clock
Time limits are the first thing to check.
- Firm complaint: normally within 6 years of the advice or the sale, or within 3 years of becoming aware of cause to complain.
- Ombudsman: within 6 months of the final response, normally due within 8 weeks.
- FSCS: where the firm has failed and was authorised. Investment claims are limited to up to £85,000 per eligible person, per firm for firms that failed after 1 April 2019.
- Court: 6 years from the cause of action or 3 years from the date of knowledge, whichever is later, with a 15-year longstop.
- Reviews and switches: each recommendation has its own date. Where a portfolio was reviewed annually, the later reviews may open separate periods.
04 The routes
Which route fits your facts.
Financial Ombudsman Service
Free to consumers, and used to cases where the records are thin and recollections differ. It can consider whether the firm acted fairly, not only whether it broke a rule.
FSCS
Applies where the firm has failed. Free to claim, with investment claims limited to up to £85,000 per eligible person, per firm for firms that failed after 1 April 2019.
Court
For losses above the Ombudsman’s award limit, or where a claim must be brought against a party outside its jurisdiction.
05 Evidence
Documents to gather.
You do not need everything before you start. But a complaint that names dates, amounts and documents is much harder to answer with a template letter.
- The appointment record, fact find and attitude to risk questionnaire
- The suitability report and recommendation
- Product key information document, terms and risk rating
- Statements for the product and for any linked accounts
- Charges disclosure, and any fee or commission information
- Anything you were given in the branch on the day
- Your complaint correspondence and the firm’s final response, with its date
- The entity name and firm reference number, from the FCA Register
06 Questions
Questions people ask about this product.
How do I know whether I was advised or just sold to?
Ask the firm in writing what it recorded and why. The distinction matters because an advised sale carries a recommendation that must have been suitable, while an execution-only sale does not — the firm still has duties, but they are different ones.
Can I complain to a bank that no longer exists?
Where the firm has failed, FSCS may be the route. Check the FCA Register and the FSCS list of failed firms. Where the business was transferred to another firm, your complaint usually goes to the successor — ask both, in writing.
Does it matter that the product was the bank’s own?
It matters that the conflict was disclosed and managed. A recommendation to buy the recommending firm’s own product is not automatically improper, but it makes the disclosure of the conflict and of the costs a central question.
The appointment lasted twenty minutes. Is that enough?
Length alone does not decide it. What decides it is whether the firm gathered and recorded enough about your circumstances to make a suitable recommendation, and what it told you about the risk. Ask for the record and read it.
What if I cannot find the paperwork?
Ask the firm for it. Firms are expected to be able to produce the advice record and the product documents. If it cannot, say so in your complaint, because the absence of records is itself part of the picture.
Should I use a claims management company for a bank complaint?
You do not need to: complaints to firms and to the Ombudsman are free and designed for consumers. If you do use one, understand the fee cap for financial services claims — between 15% and 30% of the award depending on its size for claims started on or after 1 March 2022 — and note that the cap does not apply to court claims.
Sources
Every rule, limit and deadline on this page comes from the official sources below. Each was read on the date shown. Where we could not verify a rule against the official text, we have left a visible instruction to confirm it rather than describing it from memory.
Financial Conduct Authority
Checked 12 October 2026 — The complaint process, the eight-week final response and the six-month window to go to the Ombudsman.
Understanding compensation for financial loss
Financial Ombudsman Service
Checked 12 October 2026 — Award limits for cases referred to the Ombudsman, and how compensation and interest are worked out.
Financial Services Compensation Scheme
Checked 12 October 2026 — Investment compensation limits per eligible person per firm, and what FSCS cannot cover.
Using claims management companies
Financial Conduct Authority
Checked 12 October 2026 — Who must be authorised, the fee cap for financial services claims, and the protections you are entitled to.
Financial Services Register / FCA Firm Checker
Financial Conduct Authority
Checked 12 October 2026 — The official register used to confirm whether a firm is authorised and what it is permitted to do.
FSCS compensation rules and eligibility
Financial Services Compensation Scheme
Checked 12 October 2026 — The conditions that must all be met before FSCS can pay a claim.
MIS-SOLD INVESTMENT / CLAIM CHECKER
// Next step
Check your own facts against the eight checks.
Free, private, and no obligation. You get an indicator, the checks that fired, where you are against the deadlines, and the documents to gather.
Canonical: https://mis-sold-investments.com/bank-mis-sold-investments/