Not upheld: Service failures generally complaint against Conister Bank Limited
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-5879488 of 2025-12-04T00:00:00+00:00. Service failures generally complaint against Conister Bank Limited. Outcome: Not upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-5879488 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2025-12-04T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | Conister Bank Limited |
| Product | Savings / ISA |
| Claim type | Service failures generally |
| Outcome | Not upheld |
| Remedy | None. No compensation or further action required from Conister Bank Limited. |
Summary
Mr R applied for a fixed deposit account with Conister Bank Limited on 24 July 2025 but experienced delays in the account opening process. After 8 working days, Conister requested valid ID documentation, which Mr R felt was too slow. Frustrated by the delay and concerned about missing investment opportunities, Mr R opened an account with an alternative provider (B) after 4 working days. Mr R complained to Conister about the service delays, and while Conister apologized, it did not offer compensation. The ombudsman found the 8 working day delay to be small rather than substantial and noted that Mr R had already mitigated his circumstances by opening an alternative account before Conister would likely have completed processing anyway. The ombudsman upheld Conister's apology as reasonable and declined to award any compensation.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
The ombudsman considered 8 working days to be a small rather than substantial delay for requesting ID documentation. While acknowledging Mr R's frustration and his desire to invest funds urgently, the ombudsman found that Mr R had mitigated his circumstances by opening an account with provider B after only 4 working days, meaning he would not have needed the Conister account even if it had been processed within a reasonable timeframe. The ombudsman found Conister's explanation regarding high application volumes reasonable and determined that an apology was appropriate for a one-off incident with minimal impact.
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| Conister Bank Limited, all decisions | 21 | 29% |
| Service failures generally, all decisions | 32,767 | 33% |
| Savings / ISA, all decisions | 7,667 | 22% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website