When to approach the Ombudsman
The Law on Protection of Users of Financial Services is applicable from November 2014, and represents legal regulation harmonized with the EU standards, namely Directive 2008/48/ES.
This Law provides that protection is prescribed through the general business conditions of the banking system entities, providing information to the users in the pre-contractual stage, determination the content of the information sheet, conclusion of the service contract, as well as prescribing the mandatory elements of such contracts.
When to approach the Ombudsman?
Any natural person (including guarantor who is natural or legal person) may contact the Ombudsman, if the subject considers that his or her rights or interests in operations with the bank or other financial institution (microcredit organisation, leasing or factoring company) were violated, i.e. that financial institution does not comply with concluded contracts, general business conditions and honest business practices.
Order for the lodging of complaints
The first step is to make a direct contact with the official of the financial institutions for which you consider that violated your rights and thus in a simpler way try to settle the eventual disputes. Through direct contact and discussion with the official of the financial institution, in many cases clients may resolve the problem in a quick and simple way, so do not have to conduct a further action.
If you are not satisfied with the spoken communication with the official of the financial institution, you have the right to lodge a written complaint to the financial institution. Please, keep in mind that lodging a complaint and complaint-handling is free of charge. The financial institution should provide the response related to client’s complaint within 30 days.
Unless the financial institution provides the response to your written complaint, within 30 days or if assesses that complaint is unfounded, or if you are simply not satisfied with the response, you may contact the Ombudsman for the banking system by written notice or by written complaint. Your complaint should contain information such as short description of problem, time and circumstances of its occurrence, and the response of financial institutions, if it has previously sent you a response.
How Ombudsman for banking system may help you?
Upon receiving the complaint, or written notice, the Ombudsman for banking system requests the financial institution to make a statement related to the complaints and to submit all evidences and explanations. If the Ombudsman establishes violation of your rights and interests, it will require from the financial institution to take concrete measures with the objective to settle a dispute. Through this proceeding, the Ombudsman may issue recommendations, guidelines and opinions. If the Ombudsman assesses that financial institution has violated the provisions of the Law on protection of users, it will forward the case to the Banking Agency of the FBiH for issuing the penalties to the financial institution. Sometimes, settlement of disputes includes a possibility of mediation where the user or the financial institution may initiate mediation proceeding to settle dispute.
Mediation Proceeding
Mediation proceedings is an alternative way to resolve a dispute; having no binding force, where the parties in the proceeding, in any stage may waive from the further conduct of proceeding. This process is more flexible, efficient and cheaper than the court proceedings, and the mandatory precondition to initiate a mediation proceeding is that both parties agree on, because it cannot be initiated unilaterally. The ombudsman cannot impose a settlement of dispute or take a decision, but its role is to mediate proceeding, thus to enable parties to reach an amicable settlement.
Request for mediation proceeding shall be submitted to the Ombudsman in the written format, and services provided by the Ombudsman for clients in this proceedings are free of charge.
Contact details
Inquiries, complaints and requests to the Ombudsman for the banking system can be sent to the following address:
Banking Agency of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Zmaja od Bosne br. 47b
71 000 Sarajevo
Bosna i Hercegovina
or by email: ombudsmen@fba.ba or