How to make a complaint

In the app

The quickest and easiest way to make a complaint is through the app. Just tap the account menu on your home screen, then tap ‘Help’ to start a chat.

By email

You can also send an email to help@starlingbank.com.

To help us resolve your complaint quickly, please provide as much information as possible, including how you’d like us to contact you to discuss it further.

By phone

You can call us on 020 7930 4450. We’re available to chat 24/7.

By post

You can write to us at:

Starling Bank Customer Relations Team
8th Floor Brunel House
2 Fitzalan Road
Cardiff
CF24 0FG

How we’ll handle your complaint

It’s important that we understand what’s gone wrong. So, once we’ve received your complaint, we might call you to find out some more details. Before any call, as a security measure, we’ll message you in the app to arrange a time that suits you. You’ll have a dedicated complaint handler who will keep you posted as we progress.

If you’re satisfied that we’ve resolved your complaint within three working days of receiving your complaint, we’ll send you a ‘summary resolution communication.’

If we can’t resolve the complaint by the fifth working day, we’ll send you a ‘written acknowledgement letter’. This is to let you know that we’re still looking into it.

Once we’ve looked into all the details of your complaint, we’ll send you a ‘final response letter’. This will explain what we’ve decided to do in response to your complaint – and why.

How long the process will take

We try to resolve all complaints as quickly as possible, but some complaints may take longer than others. The Financial Conduct Authority gives us a maximum number of days to send a final response.

If your complaint is about a payment service (like Faster Payments, online transactions, or bank transfers), we aim to send a final response within 15 working days after receiving your complaint. If we expect the process to take longer than 15 days, we’ll get in touch to let you know why the issue hasn’t been fixed yet, and when we’ll be in touch again. Almost all complaints about payment services are resolved within 35 business days, unless there are exceptional circumstances.

For all other complaints, we have eight weeks to send you a final response. If we expect it to take longer, we’ll get in touch to let you know why the issue hasn’t been resolved yet, and when we predict we’ll be able to give you our decision. We’ll also give you a breakdown of our process and details of how to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service.

What to do if you’re unhappy with the outcome

In this case, you may be able to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service – it’s free and independent. If this applies to you, we’ll let you know. If you’d like to refer your complaint, you’ll need to do so within six months of receiving your final response letter or summary resolution letter.

You can contact the Financial Ombudsman Service at:

Financial Ombudsman Service
Exchange Tower
London
E14 9SR

Telephone: 0800 023 4567

Email: complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org.uk
Website: www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk