Not upheld: Account administration errors complaint against Atom Bank PLC

Decision detail

Summary

Mr G complained that Atom Bank PLC failed to provide adequate notice of an interest rate reduction on his Instant Saver Reward savings account, arguing that due to the account's structure and the timing of the notification, he would inevitably experience reduced interest regardless of his actions. Atom notified Mr G on 8 August of rate changes effective 22 August (14 days' notice) in response to a Bank of England base rate reduction. The ombudsman found that Atom complied with both the account terms and conditions and BCOBS 4.1 requirements by providing 14 days' notice, which is reasonable, and that the rate change was permissible under the contractual terms allowing adjustments for economic environment changes. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Atom complied with the account terms and conditions by providing 14 days' notice of the rate reduction, which is a reasonable notice period under BCOBS 4.1. The rate change was permissible under the terms as it reflected changes in the economic environment (Bank of England base rate reduction). The ombudsman noted that while the account structure meant Mr G could not avoid the lower rates, this is inherent to the account he agreed to. The timing of the base rate review (early in the month) was outside Atom's control, and the ombudsman found no unfairness in how Atom exercised its contractual rights.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website