Not upheld: PPI mis-selling complaint against Wesleyan Financial Services Ltd

Decision detail

Summary

Mr K complained that Wesleyan's adviser advised him in June 2023 not to withdraw his investments, claiming this was bad advice that would have caused him financial loss had he followed it. Wesleyan maintained that no regulated advice was provided, only factual information about economic conditions and general tax implications. The ombudsman found that the conversation did not meet the threshold for regulated financial advice, as it lacked a personal recommendation based on Mr K's circumstances and included no suitability analysis. Furthermore, Mr K did not follow the alleged advice and instead withdrew all his funds independently in July 2023, so Wesleyan did not cause any financial loss. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that financial advice requires a personal recommendation based on the customer's circumstances and objectives, supported by fact-find documents, financial analysis, and a suitability report. The June 2023 conversation merely provided factual information about economic factors and general tax implications without a personal recommendation tailored to Mr K's circumstances. The letter explicitly stated no advice was provided, no fee was charged for this conversation, and Mr K did not challenge this statement at the time. Even if advice had been given, Mr K did not follow it—he withdrew all funds anyway in July 2023—so Wesleyan did not cause any financial loss.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website