Managing your Account
You will be sent a regular bank statement, detailing any transactions on your account, either via email or standard post. You should always read and check your statement for accuracy; if there are any suspicious transactions on the account, that you do not remember authorising, contact your bank immediately.
Your bank statement details a specific banking period: the account balance at the beginning and end of this period, any transactions during this period, any charges or commissions from the bank, a fee for account management and the interest rate. Transactions featured in the statement typically fall into two categories: credits and debits. Credits are transactions in favour of the client, which increase the account balance. Debits reduce the account balance.
In Italy, the 'Bersani' Decree (Law 243 of the 4th of August 2006) created certain guarantees for the customer, regarding the management of their account:
if the bank decides to alter or amend any aspect of your contract, you must be told about the changes at least thirty days before they are introduced. These changes are valid only if you do not cancel the account within sixty days. If you cancel the contract, the bank is obliged to adhere to the conditions of the initial contract whilst you are their customer
if the European Bank decides to change any aspect of banking finance, such as the interest rate, banks should inform their account holders of these changes immediately.
It is important to get into the habit of checking the transactions on your bank statement, especially any withdrawals and payments, in order to ensure that there is no unusual activity on your account. If you see a mistake on your bank statement, you should contact the complaints office, 'Ufficio Reclami', of your bank with details of the mistake, in writing, and send the letter via registered post to arrive within sixty days of the date you received the bank statement. The complaints office will answer your enquiry within sixty days, or within ninety days in the case of a complaint connected to any form of investment.
If you do not receive a reply, or if you are not satisfied with the answer, you can ask the Ombudsman for help. The Ombudsman is in charge of solving any problems between banks and their clients, offering assistance free of charge. You can also ask the 'Conciliatore Bancario', the bank's mediator, for assistance, but this will not be free.
For more information on bank statements, see the Italian articles:
