How to use FIN-NET?

Out-of-court complaint schemes normally cover service providers which operate in and from the country where the scheme exists. This means that if a consumer complains about a foreign financial services provider, his/her complaint will normally be handled by a complaint body which operates in the country where the financial services provider is located.

A consumer having a complaint against a financial services provider located in another country may:

• Use this website to identify the relevant out-of court complaint scheme in the country of the financial services provider and contact that body directly.
• Contact the out-of-court complaint scheme in his/her home country, which will help to identify the relevant complaint scheme in the country of the financial services provider and will give all the necessary information about the scheme and its complaints procedure. If a consumer decides to file a complaint, he/she can leave it with the FIN-NET member in his/her country, which will transfer it to the relevant scheme in the service provider's country. In some cases it might be more efficient for a consumer to contact the relevant scheme directly, and in these cases the FIN-NET member in his home country will suggest him/her to do so. Once the competent scheme has received the complaint, it will try to resolve the dispute according to its rules and taking into account the Commission Recommendation 98/257/EC on principles applicable to bodies responsible for out-of-court settlement of consumer disputes.

FIN-NET schemes aim to give consumers the possibility to make their cross-border complaints at least in the language of their financial contract or in the language in which they have normally dealt with their financial services provider. Many schemes work in other languages as well.

For a list of FIN-NET members and their characteristics, please see Members of FIN-NET.

Consumers may also use the FIN-NET form for cross-border financial services complaints, which contains an explanation of the steps to be taken, as a first entry point into FIN-NET.

For further information on how to use FIN-NET, please see the Consumer Guide.