Not upheld: Account closure without notice complaint against Radiant Financial Planning Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr and Mrs A, who have lived in the EU since 2006 and been customers of Radiant Financial Planning since 2007, complained about being 'orphaned' when Radiant terminated its advisory services in September 2023 due to post-Brexit regulatory changes. Radiant acknowledged it should have notified them sooner but maintained it lacked regulatory permission to continue advising overseas EU clients. Mr and Mrs A claimed losses for transferring their portfolio and cited anxiety caused by the situation. The ombudsman upheld the investigator's conclusion that Radiant acted within its regulatory obligations and that the delayed notification, while acknowledged as an oversight, did not materially disadvantage the complainants as they continued receiving services and would have faced the same outcome regardless. No compensation was awarded.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman concluded that Radiant's decision to terminate advisory services to EU-based clients was a direct consequence of Brexit and regulatory changes beyond Radiant's control. The firm was required to comply with new regulatory requirements that prevented it from providing advisory services to non-UK residents without appropriate permissions and expertise. While Radiant could have notified customers sooner, this delay did not materially disadvantage Mr and Mrs A as they continued to receive services during the interim period and would have faced the same outcome regardless of earlier notification. The ombudsman found no evidence of deliberate wrongdoing or financial loss caused by the delayed notification.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website