Not upheld: Investment mis-selling complaint against Embark Investment Services Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs C complained that Stocktrade failed to follow her instructions to participate in a National Grid Plc rights issue in May 2024. She believed she had instructed Stocktrade to purchase additional shares but discovered in August 2024 that no shares had been allocated to her. Stocktrade's external IT team review concluded that Mrs C had selected the 'take no action' option rather than the 'take up offer' option. The ombudsman found the two options were unambiguous, the IT review was conducted to a sufficient standard, and on balance it was more likely that Mrs C selected the wrong option. The complaint was not upheld as Stocktrade had correctly followed the instructions they received.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman weighed the evidence and concluded that on balance it was more likely than not that Mrs C selected the wrong option ('take no action') rather than the correct option ('take up offer'). The ombudsman found the two options were unambiguous and not misleading, the external IT review was conducted to a sufficient standard by a specialist partner, and Stocktrade correctly followed the instructions they received. The ombudsman noted that Mrs C, as an execution only customer, was responsible for her own instructions and that the absence of confirmation did not constitute a failure by Stocktrade.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website