Missing funds in your account? Email, phone call and other ways to report to CBN if bank fails resolve issues

Many customers have been victims of unauthorized transactions or missing money in their bank accounts.

Especially in the last three months, there have also been hundreds of reports of PoS fraud and customers making transfers but the money did not reach the receivers' bank accounts.

Everyday, a number of customers troop to their respective banks to lay out these complaints, hoping that the banks will quickly resolve the issues and return their money. Unfortunately, in most cases, resolution is not as simple as clicking a bunch of keys on the keyboard of computers.

While some customers have been lucky to get a refund in a week or two, others have been quite unlucky as the issues may be out of the control of the banks and require further investigation.

Note that sometimes, the banks may not be culpable in some of these issues, as it may have been the fault of the customer who fell prey to scammers by disclosing vital information, misplacing their ATM card or phones that have direct access to their bank accounts.

Whatever the issues may be, it is only fair that all avenues to get your money back is explored. If you have exercised more than enough patience with your bank and have exhausted other options, it is only normal to escalate it to the apex bank for a possible final resolution.

This article is based on the premise that you have already lodged your complaint before your bank and do not seem to have gotten a resolution.

The CBN expects the customer to direct his/her complaint to the bank/branch where the issue originated and then allow for a period of 2 weeks to a month, depending on the complaint to be resolved.

If the bank fails to engage the customer or resolve the complaint within 2 weeks or 30 days as the case may be, then the complaint must be reported to the Consumer Protection Department (CPD) of the CBN.

The CPD attends to all financial-related complaints against financial institutions including commercial banks, microfinance banks, discount houses, and primary mortgage institutions.

The CPD can be contacted via the following channels:

- Email: cpd@cbn.gov.ng

- Phone call: +234 7002255226 Customers can lodge a complaint directly on the CBN website via this link.

- Letter: Director, Consumer Protection Department, Central Bank of Nigeria, Central Business District, Abuja.

- Note: Your letter can be submitted at the CBN headquarters mentioned above or at any of its branches nationwide.