Not upheld: Service failures generally complaint against Lloyds Bank Insurance Services Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr and Mrs C complained that Lloyds Bank Insurance Services Limited provided incorrect information about their legal expenses insurance policy, causing a delay in Mr C's employment dispute claim which had tight court deadlines. Mr C claimed his policy documents indicated he should contact claims handler A, but Lloyds had actually referred him to B. The ombudsman reviewed Lloyds' contact notes and found that Lloyds had correctly identified and transferred Mr C to B, the appropriate claims handler at that time. The ombudsman concluded that Lloyds could not be held responsible for Mr C subsequently contacting A, as Lloyds had already provided correct information and would not have known of Mr C's actions unless informed. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman examined Lloyds' contact notes which clearly showed that Lloyds referred Mr C to B, the correct claims handler, rather than to A. Although Mr C's policy documents may have indicated A as the contact point (due to the policy transfer), Lloyds had already provided the correct information and transferred the call before Mr C could have acted on outdated documentation. The ombudsman found it unreasonable to hold Lloyds responsible for Mr C subsequently contacting A, as Lloyds would not have been aware of this unless Mr C informed them, which he did not.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website