A complaint about a Canadian bank follows the same route at every federally regulated bank: you complain to the bank first, the bank has a deadline to answer in writing, and if you’re not satisfied you can take the complaint to the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI), a free, independent reviewer. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) supervises how banks handle complaints but does not resolve individual ones.
This page explains that shared route. The names, phone numbers and complaint offices for each bank are on that bank’s own page in the bank customer service directory.
The route at a glance
| Stage | Who | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Complain to the bank | The branch, phone line or online channel you normally use | The bank must give you a detailed written response within 56 calendar days of your first complaint |
| 2. Escalate inside the bank | The bank’s senior complaint office, as its own process describes | Usually 2 internal steps in total; the 56-day clock still runs from your first complaint |
| 3. Take it to OBSI | Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments | Once 56 calendar days have passed, or once the bank has sent its detailed written response and closed your file; you have 180 calendar days after the bank’s final response to bring the complaint |
| 4. Other options | A legal professional | Costs may apply |
Step 1: Prepare and file the complaint with your bank
Before you contact the bank, FCAC suggests writing down the key facts about the problem, the dates, names and other supporting details, and the outcome you want, such as a refund or a correction to your account. Keep notes of every conversation: the date, the employee’s name and what was discussed.
Each bank publishes its own complaint-handling process, on its website and in its branches, and must explain how to move a complaint through each step. FCAC keeps a list of the complaint-handling procedures of every federally regulated financial institution. You can usually complain in person, by phone or online.
The 56-day rule. The bank must give you a detailed written response within 56 calendar days from when you first made the complaint. That also applies when the bank closes your complaint and you don’t accept the solution it proposed.
Step 2: Escalate inside the bank
If you’re not satisfied with the bank’s first answer, tell the bank. FCAC says you can usually expect 2 internal steps: the first contact (a branch, the phone line or a customer care team) and a senior complaint office that reviews unresolved cases. What that office is called differs by bank, and each bank’s page in this hub names it:
- Big banks: RBC, TD, BMO, Scotiabank, CIBC and National Bank
- Online banks: EQ Bank, Tangerine, Simplii Financial and Manulife Bank
- Fintechs whose accounts are held at partner institutions: KOHO, Neo Financial and Wealthsimple
- Cooperative and provincial institutions: Desjardins (see the provincial route below)
Step 3: Take the complaint to OBSI
OBSI is an external and independent organization that provides a free and impartial review of complaints between consumers and banks. Since November 1, 2024, it has been Canada’s single external complaints body for federally regulated banks, and every federally regulated bank must be a member.
When you can go to OBSI. You can contact OBSI on the earlier of two dates: once 56 calendar days have passed since you first filed the complaint with your bank, or once the bank has given you its detailed written response and closed your file. After you receive the bank’s final response, you have 180 calendar days to bring the complaint to OBSI.
What happens next.
- If the complaint is outside OBSI’s terms of reference, OBSI must tell you in writing within 30 calendar days.
- OBSI must make a final written recommendation within 120 calendar days after it receives the information it needs.
- OBSI can recommend up to $350,000 for a single complaint, and that limit doesn’t increase when more than one account is involved.
- OBSI’s recommendations are not binding, so a bank is not required to follow them. If a bank refuses, OBSI makes the refusal public without naming the consumer.
You can reach OBSI at 1-888-451-4519 or through OBSI’s make-a-complaint page.
Older references to ADR Chambers. Before November 1, 2024, banks could choose between OBSI and the ADR Chambers Banking Ombuds Office (ADRBO). The six banks that used ADRBO (Royal Bank of Canada, TD Bank, Scotiabank, National Bank of Canada, Tangerine Bank and Digital Commerce Bank) moved to OBSI that day, so a guide or bank document that sends RBC, TD, Scotiabank, National Bank or Tangerine customers to ADR Chambers predates the change.
What FCAC does and doesn’t do
FCAC supervises federally regulated financial entities, including banks, and checks that they comply with federal consumer protection laws, including their complaint-handling obligations. Banks must report their complaints and compliance issues to FCAC, and FCAC reports to Parliament on the number and types of complaints.
FCAC does not resolve individual complaints. You can report a complaint to FCAC, which uses the information in its supervision, and its Consumer Information Centre can explain a bank’s complaint process and your rights. It won’t order a refund or compensation for you. See FCAC’s guide to filing a complaint with your bank for its own summary of the steps.
Credit unions and Desjardins: a provincial route
Provincially regulated credit unions and caisses are outside this federal framework, and FCAC notes that a provincial credit union’s process may differ. Their complaints go through the institution’s own process and then to the provincial or territorial regulator or dispute body the institution names. Where a provincial credit union uses OBSI, OBSI says the institution has 90 days to respond first (60 days for Quebec residents). Desjardins caisses follow Quebec’s provincial route; the Desjardins customer service page has its steps.
Complaints that follow a different route
- A disputed credit card charge has its own process with the card issuer: see how to dispute a credit card charge.
- Fraud or a scam is reported to the bank’s fraud line first: see how to tell whether you’ve been scammed and where to report it and banking fraud protection.
- A frozen or closed account has its own causes and fixes: see why a bank freezes an account.
- The CRA has a separate objection and service-complaint process that OBSI and FCAC don’t handle: see how to dispute a CRA decision.
- Insurance complaints go through the insurer and its own external body: see FCAC’s insurance complaint guide.
If OBSI’s review doesn’t resolve the problem, FCAC notes you can consult a legal professional about other options, which may cost money.