Not upheld: Account closure without notice complaint against OakNorth Bank plc

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs S complained that OakNorth unfairly closed her three savings accounts without sufficient notice after she could not provide a US tax identification number. Mrs S had disclosed US citizenship on her application but subsequently explained she had dual UK-US citizenship, was UK tax resident, and had no US employment or assets. OakNorth requested the tax information for FATCA compliance purposes and provided 14 days' notice before closing the accounts on 29 December 2023. The Ombudsman found OakNorth acted in line with its terms and conditions, which clearly outlined FATCA requirements and account closure procedures. While acknowledging OakNorth could have requested information sooner, the Ombudsman upheld OakNorth's actions and found the £300 compensation and three-month reopening opportunity to be reasonable remedies.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The Ombudsman found that OakNorth was entitled to request US tax information based on Mrs S's disclosure of US citizenship in her application, which triggered FATCA obligations clearly outlined in the terms and conditions and privacy notice. The 14 days' notice provided for account closure was in line with the contractual terms and no legislative requirement for 90 days' notice applied to these circumstances. While OakNorth could have requested the information sooner, the £300 compensation offered was reasonable for this delay, and the offer to reopen accounts if information was provided within three months was generous.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website