Upheld: Service failures generally complaint against OANDA Europe Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr J complained to OANDA Europe Limited after system issues prevented him from funding his trading account on 2 March 2023, forcing him to partially close a USD/JPY position at a loss of £23.73. OANDA compensated him £24.79 for the financial loss but Mr J sought additional compensation for distress, claiming the incident exacerbated his underlying health condition. The ombudsman upheld the complaint, finding that medical records showing medication ordering patterns and Mr J's testimony demonstrated the March 2023 episode was his worst in six years and more likely than not caused by stress from the system failure. OANDA was ordered to pay £250 additional compensation for the distress suffered.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman accepted that OANDA's compensation for financial loss was fair. However, regarding distress, the ombudsman considered the pattern of medication orders as evidence that the March 2023 episode was more severe than the January 2023 flare-up, with the gap between orders reducing from eight months to two and a half months. This pattern, combined with Mr J's testimony and medical records, demonstrated on the balance of probabilities that stress from the system issue caused the health episode. Therefore, compensation for distress was warranted.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website