Not upheld: Account administration errors complaint against Westerby Trustee Services Limited (trading as Westerby The Pension Specialist)

Decision detail

Summary

Mr N complained that Westerby Trustee Services caused unnecessary delays to his in-specie SIPP transfer from IBKR to Interactive Investor, resulting in an unrealised loss of £2,737.85 and additional fees of £1,185.77. The transfer process took approximately 12 months (September 2024 to August 2025) with multiple delays caused by coordination issues between IBKR and Interactive Investor. Westerby argued it was not responsible for the delays as it had no authority over IBKR's operations and Mr N held a separate customer relationship with IBKR. The ombudsman upheld Westerby's position, finding that the delays were caused by IBKR and Interactive Investor, not Westerby, and that Mr N should have brought separate complaints against those firms to the FOS. The complaint was not upheld and no award was made.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman determined that Westerby did not have an outsourcing arrangement with IBKR and that Mr N held a separate customer relationship with IBKR in his own right. The evidence showed that delays were caused by IBKR and Interactive Investor, not by Westerby's administration. Westerby had repeatedly chased both parties on Mr N's behalf but had no authority over their operational processes. Since Mr N only complained to the FOS about Westerby and not about IBKR or Interactive Investor, the ombudsman could only assess Westerby's direct administration, which was not responsible for the delays. To fairly determine responsibility and award redress, Mr N would need to bring separate complaints against the parties actually responsible for the delays.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website