About the Danish Financial Complaint Board – Basic business account

What is the Danish Financial Complaint Board – Basic business account?

Filing a complaint and the conditions/prerequisites for filing a complaint

How does the Danish Financial Complaint Board work?

Who is appointed to the Complaint Board?

What is the Danish Financial Complaint Board – Basic business account?

According to the Danish act on Payment Accounts and Basic Business Accounts Sec. 13 f, Finans Danmark has appointed the Danish Financial Complaint Board (the Complaint Board) as appeal body for companies and associations to file a complaint against financial institutions’ refusal to grant a basic business account, termination of a basic business account or demanding a fee for handling a basic business account.

Filing a complaint and the conditions/prerequisites for filing a complaint

In the paragraph Filling a complaint here you may read more about/ (acquaint yourself with) who may file a complaint, what you may complain about and how to file a complaint. 

How does the Danish Financial Complaint Board work?

You must submit the details of your complaint in writing and upload them to the Complaint Board’s complaint portal, which you will be able to access immediately after your case has been opened.

You can send your complaint and the case documents in Danish or English. Your complaint will be handled in Danish, and the decision will similarly be drawn up in Danish.

The average complaint processing time depends on how long the preparation takes. Once all information relating to a case has become available, the Complaint Board expects to make a decision within 90 days.

Once the preparatory stage of the processing has been completed, the Complaint Board handles your complaint at a meeting of the Complaint Board.

On behalf of the Complaint Board, the founding organization may authorize the Chairman to make a decision in certain cases where an established practice exists or to reject cases that are not deemed suitable for consideration by the Complaint Board pursuant to Sec. 5, 3 of the statutes. The founding organization may also authorize the secretariat to reject cases pursuant to Sec. 5.1 and 3 of the statutes.

The parties are not bound by the Complaint Board’s decision. However, if the decision is not in the bank’s favour, the bank must notify the Complaint Board within 30 days of the date on which notice of the decision was given to the bank that it does not intend to comply with the decision. If the bank does not react within 30 days of being given notice of the decision, you can have the decision enforced against the bank.

If the bank does not want to comply with the decision, the Complaint Board will notify you about this. You will also be informed about your options for taking the complaint to court.

Read more about your possibilities for enforcing the decision here.

If you do not succeed with your complaint, you will, when relevant, be advised about the possibilities for having the case re-opened or taking it to court. You should note that your complaint may become time-barred if you institute any proceedings later than one year after the Complaint Board’s decision.  

You will find all the decisions made by the Complaint Board on the Danish part of the Complaint Board’s website.

Who is appointed to the Complaint Board?

The chairmanship of the Complaint Board is composed of a Supreme Court judge (chairman) and three vice-chairmen, two High Court judges and one District Court Judge, respectively.

Finance Denmark and one or more representatives from the companies and associations appoint the members of the Complaint Board. A list of the members of the Complaint Board can be seen here.

The members of the Complaint Board are appointed for a term of three years and are eligible for reappointment.

Refer also to the Statutes of the Complaint Board, which can be seen here.