Upheld: Account administration errors complaint against Embark Investment Services Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs P complained that Scottish Widows merged her two ISAs without prior notice when migrating to a new platform that only allows one ISA per customer. Scottish Widows apologized and offered £300 compensation. The ombudsman upheld the complaint, finding that whilst the merger was inevitable, Mrs P should have been notified in advance, which would have allowed her to transfer the accounts elsewhere. The ombudsman found no financial loss resulted from the merger and upheld the £300 compensation as fair, also requiring the firm to allow free transfer to another provider if Mrs P wishes.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that whilst the merger was inevitable due to platform constraints, Scottish Widows failed in their duty to notify Mrs P beforehand. This failure was the key issue, not the merger itself. The ombudsman was satisfied that no financial loss occurred and that £300 fairly compensated for the inconvenience and upset caused by the lack of notice. The ombudsman noted that Mrs P could now transfer the account to another provider if desired, and the compensation covered any inconvenience from that process.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website