Not upheld: account opening decision and account suitability complaint against NATIONAL WESTMINSTER BANK PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY

Decision detail

Summary

A charity complained that NatWest failed to provide suitable accounts for managing client money. The charity opened a Client Deposit Manager Account and Business Reserve Account but discovered the Client Deposit Account had insufficient payment limits for its needs (over £50,000 daily). The charity learned that NatWest's Bankline product offered higher limits but required a Business Current Account, which NatWest declined to open. The ombudsman found NatWest acted fairly in declining the Business Current Account application based on its own account opening criteria, which it was entitled to keep confidential. The complaint was not upheld as NatWest had a legitimate basis for its decision and was not obliged to disclose its reasoning.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that the underlying problem was the charity's inability to obtain a Business Current Account, not the suitability of the Client Deposit Account itself. The Client Deposit Account would have functioned appropriately if used with Bankline, which required a Business Current Account. NatWest acted fairly in declining the Business Current Account application based on its own account opening criteria and policies. NatWest is entitled to set its own policies and criteria for opening accounts and is not obliged to disclose commercially sensitive information about those criteria. The ombudsman accepted that NatWest's evidence, provided in confidence, demonstrated a legitimate basis for the decision.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website