Not upheld: Service failures generally complaint against United Trust Bank Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr O complained that United Trust Bank Limited failed to remind him that his fixed term investment was about to mature on 17 November 2023, resulting in lost interest when funds were placed in a lower-yielding seven day account. UTB had sent a maturity notification letter on 1 November 2023 and a text message on 11 November 2023, but Mr O did not receive either communication. Mr O argued that UTB should have used secure email, particularly after changing to this method on 9 November 2023. The ombudsman found that UTB acted reasonably in using letters and text messages, which were standard practice among financial institutions, and was not obliged to use alternative methods after already notifying the customer through established channels. The complaint was not upheld and no compensation was awarded.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that UTB followed reasonable notification procedures by sending both a letter and a text message. While Mr O did not receive these communications, the ombudsman was satisfied that UTB sent them to the correct address and number on file. The ombudsman rejected the argument that UTB should have used secure email, noting that the change to this method occurred after the initial notification was sent, and that other banks similarly use letters and texts. The ombudsman declined to investigate potential failures in the postal or mobile networks, as it was reasonable for UTB to assume properly addressed post and successfully sent text messages would be received.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website