A customer is a person who has an account with a bank or has a relationship with the banker even though he has no account with the bank.
The question of whether a person is a customer of a bank is a matter of fact and an occasional or even regular encashment of a cheque, for example, is not sufficient to establish the relationship of banker and customer. The duration of the relationship is not of the essence. As a normal practice, banks make inquiries as to prospective customers to ensure that they are suitable persons with whom to enter into relations and the failure to do so is a factor in a subsequent claim against the bank for conversion of a cheque collected for the customer's account. Currently, the inquiries which a bank is required to undertake are very much determined by the money laundering regulations. For money laundering in relating to banking, see Halsbury's Laws of England, 49 (5th), 831.
Negligence—banks and the duty of care The number of claims against banks continues apace. This Practice Note focuses on specific issues arising in respect of the tortious duty of care owed by banks to their customers, namely the so-called ‘Quincecare duty of care’, assumption of responsibility and the volunteering of advice. For guidance in relation to the role of banks in the various financial mis-selling claims, see Practice Note: Standard of care in professional negligence claims—Negligent financial mis-selling claims. For guidance on negligence claims generally, see: Tort and negligence claims—overview, and as to negligence specifically, see Practice Notes: • Negligence—key elements to establish a negligence claim • Negligence—when does a duty of care arise? • Negligence—when is the duty of care breached? For guidance on professional negligence claims, see: Professional negligence claims—overview. Framing a bank’s duty to its customer Before considering the potential scope for a bank’s tortious duty of care to its customer, it is important to remember that, as in the case of Philipp v Barclays.
Financial Ombudsman Service—eligible complainants What is an 'eligible complainant'? In order to refer a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), a person must be an 'eligible complainant'. This applies irrespective of whether the complaint is brought under the FOS’ ‘Compulsory Jurisdiction’ or its ‘Voluntary Jurisdiction’ (see below and Practice Notes: Financial Ombudsman Service—compulsory jurisdiction and Financial Ombudsman Service—voluntary jurisdiction). A complaint may only be dealt with under the FOS if it is brought by, or on behalf of, an eligible complainant. Further, as long as the complainant is eligible, the complaint can be brought on their behalf by a person authorised by them to do so, or a person legally entitled to do so, even if that person (the agent) is not themselves an eligible complainant—for example, if the complainant chooses to be represented by a claims management company (CMC) or a family member. In order for the eligible complainant to authorise another to act on their behalf, they must sign the FOS complaint form, and fill.
Discover our 12 Practice Notes on Customer of a bank