Not upheld: Account closure without notice complaint against State Bank Of India (UK) Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr S held three fixed term deposits with SBI maturing in 2026 and 2027. In June 2023, facing financial difficulties and unemployment, Mr S requested closure of all three deposits to pay bills. SBI initially explained that early closure was not permitted except in exceptional circumstances but ultimately agreed to close all three deposits following Mr S's repeated explicit instructions, resulting in a loss of over £1,360 in interest. Mr S later complained that SBI had closed his accounts without consent. The ombudsman found the complaint not upheld, determining that Mr S had provided clear instructions, SBI had adequately communicated the terms and conditions, and SBI was entitled to act on his explicit requests.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Mr S provided clear, repeated instructions to close all three deposits despite SBI's initial explanation that early closure was not permitted except in exceptional circumstances. SBI appropriately questioned whether all three deposits needed to be closed given the apparent mismatch between the debt amount and deposit value. SBI provided the terms and conditions to Mr S, discussed the matter by phone, and ultimately acted on Mr S's explicit instructions. The ombudsman concluded that SBI had done enough to inform Mr S of the implications and that Mr S's later complaint about loss of interest did not change the fact that he had requested the closure.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website