Not upheld: account restriction and closure; refusal to disclose reasons for closure complaint against Nationwide Building Society

Decision detail

Summary

Mr W complained that Nationwide Building Society unfairly restricted and closed his accounts following two payments received in March 2025. Nationwide requested a third-party bank statement as evidence of the payment source, which Mr W could not provide. The accounts were restricted on 1 April 2025 and closed on 30 April 2025, causing Mr W inconvenience including loss of access to funds while abroad and cancellation of linked travel insurance. The ombudsman found Nationwide acted fairly within its terms and conditions, was entitled to set its own risk criteria, and was not obliged to disclose reasons for closure. The complaint was not upheld and no remedy was ordered.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Nationwide had strict legal and regulatory requirements to monitor accounts and had fairly relied on its terms and conditions to restrict and close the account. The ombudsman accepted Nationwide's decision-making process in confidence as commercially sensitive and found the firm had legitimate basis for its actions. The ombudsman determined that financial institutions are entitled to set their own risk criteria and that Nationwide was not obliged to be satisfied with the evidence Mr W provided, nor was it required to disclose reasons for account closure. The ombudsman found no breach of FCA principles for treating customers fairly.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website