Make a Complaint

Start with your bank

The first step in making a complaint is to have your complaint reviewed by your bank and, if unresolved, to contact the bank’s internal ombudsman’s office.

If You Are Not Satisfied With the Result, Contact ADRBO.

If you have received:

• the final written response from the bank’s internal ombudsman office and are not satisfied; or
• a letter from the bank indicating that 90 days have passed since the complaint was received by the internal ombudsman office (90-day expiration letter)

You may contact ADRBO for an independent and confidential review of your complaint.

To submit a complaint to ADRBO, download and complete the intake documents Download PDF. Send the completed and signed intake forms to ADRBO by mail, fax (1-877-803-5127) or email. Please include a copy of the bank ombudsman’s response letter or the 90-day expiration letter, and copies of any supporting documents. Please note that you must return these completed documents to our office within 180 days from the date of relevant letter in order for ADRBO to investigate. Otherwise, ADRBO may investigate a matter only if it is considered fair and reasonable to do so (requiring sufficiently compelling explanation for the delay) – and never when you are more than one year beyond the 180-day deadline.

After ADRBO receives these documents, your complaint file will be initially reviewed to determine whether it is within ADRBO’s mandate to investigate the matter, and whether a fuller investigation is warranted. If a full investigation will not be undertaken, you will be advised of this decision within 30 days of ADRBO receiving all of the information necessary to make that decision. If your file is assigned for investigation, you will be notified and subsequently contacted by the investigator. Please note that complaints are not considered “submitted” until all required documentation has been provided to our office. ADRBO endeavours to respond to all communications within 3 business days. For further information, please see our FAQ page, step-by-step guide and the “How the ADRBO Process Works” guide.

If you have a complaint about ADRBO.

If you have concerns related to ADRBO’s compliance with the Complaints (Banks, Authorized Foreign Banks and External Complaints Bodies) Regulations or ADRBO’s own policies, or general concerns related to ADRBO’s investigative process, you may contact the ADRBO Compliance Officer. For further information, please see the Compliance Program Pamphlet and the Request for Review Form.