NFO is Bank-Funded and Heavily Biased Towards Banks – Even Strong Evidence Often Gets Dismissed

I submitted a well-documented complaint against FNB after my business account was frozen for 7 months on a quickly resolved ***** alert. I provided strong evidence including: Prompt response within days (client confirmation + court-stamped documents) Pre-existing KYC from 2024 FNB’s own graphs showing the turnover cliff Specific lost invoices and quantified losses of over R235,000 Despite this, the case has been dragging on for months in "Investigation" with very slow progress. What frustrated me most is realising that the National Financial Ombud (NFO) is funded and run by the banks themselves. This creates an obvious structural bias. From research and my experience, customer success rates in formal banking cases are very low (around 16-22%), even when complainants have strong evidence. Decisions almost always seem to favour the banks, especially on business loss claims. The process feels more like a box-ticking exercise for the banks than genuine independent dispute resolution. Long delays, vague updates, and conservative outcomes make it extremely difficult for ordinary customers and small businesses to get fair redress. I would not recommend relying on the NFO if you have a serious complaint against a bank. It feels designed to protect the banks more than to help customers.