Guide · updated 08.09.2026 · 11 min read · Lucent Legal team

Sanadak: how to complain about a UAE bank for free

The bank took a fee you cannot explain, has held your account for three weeks, or the insurer refused to pay. It looks like the only road left is court and a lawyer you have to pay. There is a step before that: Sanadak, the independent ombudsman of the Central Bank of the UAE, handles consumer complaints free of charge, and the bank must carry out its decision. Below is how to get there, on what deadlines, and where the ombudsman's remit ends.

What Sanadak is and who you can complain about

Sanadak is not a department of a bank, and not a department of the Central Bank. It is a separate legal entity with its own board of directors, independent of banks and insurers.

The ombudsman absorbed the functions of the Central Bank's consumer protection department and of the insurance disputes committee. That committee, the Insurance Dispute Resolution Committee, now sits inside Sanadak.

Its jurisdiction covers:

• banks and other financial institutions licensed by the CBUAE under Federal Decree-Law No. 6/2025, which replaced Law No. 14/2018 on 16 September 2025. That takes in Islamic banks, branches and representative offices of foreign banks, exchange houses and finance companies;
• insurance companies licensed under Federal Law No. 6/2007. Takaful operators and foreign insurers working through a branch or agent are included too.

Individuals, sole traders and small businesses can file. Who regulates what across the country's financial system is set out in the banking and finance in the UAE guide.

The mandatory first step: a written complaint to the bank

Sanadak will reject a complaint if you came to it before you went to the bank. The regulation names two grounds for refusal. First: the complaint was never put to the bank. Second: the bank was not given its period for a final written reply.

The rule is simple: file through an official channel that leaves a trail. The bank's app, the form on its website, or a letter to the official complaints address.

Record three things: the date you filed, the reference number, and the text. Without the filing date you cannot prove to Sanadak that the waiting period ran.

The bank must tell the customer in writing about the right to go to Sanadak and give the contact details. If that notice is missing from the reply, say so in your complaint.

The sequence: from the bank complaint to the ombudsman's decision

1. Gather the evidence. Statements showing the disputed debit, the contract, the tariff sheet, the correspondence, the policy, the insurer's refusal. Sanadak decides on documents, not on your account of events.
2. File a written complaint with the bank or insurer. Keep the date and the reference number.
3. Wait for the final written reply. The Central Bank regulation speaks of at least 30 full working days. The u.ae portal speaks of 15 calendar days. The discrepancy is real. Go by the period stated on the Sanadak portal on the day you file.
4. Refusal or silence — file with Sanadak. The channels: the site sanadak.gov.ae, the app with UAE Pass login, the call centre 800SANADAK (800 72 623 25), email [email protected], and the Abu Dhabi office.
5. Answer Sanadak's requests on time. Parties get up to 10 working days for further explanations. Stop answering and the case can be closed.
6. Wait for the decision. From 2026 Sanadak cut its review period from 30 working days to 15. The insurance committee decides within 20 working days of receiving all documents. Both periods can be extended.
7. Watch the implementation. The bank must carry out the direction within the period set. No later than 14 working days after that period ends, it reports back to Sanadak in writing.
8. Disagree — appeal. You have 30 full working days from the date of the decision. Miss it and the decision becomes final and enforceable.

What you can actually challenge

The regulation describes three categories of complaint. The first is a grievance about a service or product. The second is refusal of a service on discriminatory grounds. The third is financial loss from deceptive, fraudulent or unfair conduct by the bank.

That covers the situations expat customers run into most:

• fees and debits — not disclosed in advance, charged against the tariff, or taken twice;
• a frozen account or refused transactions with no reason given and no answer to the documents you sent. The breakdown is in UAE bank account frozen;
• mis-selling — an insurance or investment product sold as "a deposit at a better rate";
• an insurer refusing to pay on a medical, motor or property policy;
• wrong data in your credit file. The order here is different. Start with the data correction form at the Al Etihad Credit Bureau, and dispute through 800-BUREAU. The bureau does not change data itself; the supplier, meaning the bank, answers for it. If the bank refuses to correct it, then the complaint against the bank goes to Sanadak.

A decision in your favour gives Sanadak four tools. It can order the bank to correct its conduct and the consequences of that conduct, to give an explanation, and to change a practice. It can also recommend payment of a reasonable sum for actual loss. If the bank does not comply, the case goes to the Central Bank for investigation and sanctions.

What Sanadak does not decide

An honest boundary saves months. The ombudsman will reject a complaint if:

• the dispute is already before a UAE court or was heard by one earlier;
• in substance the complaint concerns the bank's risk management, pricing policy or AML policy. A refused loan, an account closed on a risk decision, sanctions compliance — all of that sits here;
• the 3-year and 2-year deadlines have expired;
• the dispute has already been settled between you and the bank;
• the question is too complex or concerns a lawful commercial decision. Court is the fitter forum then;
• the bank is already offering a reasonable sum for the actual loss.

Account closure on a risk decision comes with a caveat. The procedural side stays with Sanadak: the bank going silent, unjustified delay, refusal to explain which documents are missing. What to do about the closure itself is in bank closing your account and a compliance request from the bank.

What it costs and what happens after the decision

Filing is free for consumers and small businesses. The bank is barred from passing its own costs of the proceedings on to the customer.

The appeal is where money appears. The fee is set by the Sanadak board. It is refunded if the decision goes in the appellant's favour. Secondary sources put it at AED 500 — confirm the figure on the portal. The Chief Ombudsman can waive the fee for an applicant without means.

Insurance disputes before the committee have their own tariff: 4% of the amount claimed, minimum AED 100, maximum AED 30,000. A claim with no stated amount costs AED 3,000.

For complaints about banks, court remains open directly as well. For insurance disputes the order is reversed: Sanadak first, then court. How the process itself works is in how to file a lawsuit in the UAE.

Topic: UAE Banking, Accounts & Taxes 2026

This material is for information only and is not legal advice. UAE law changes — a lawyer will assess how it applies to your situation.