Not upheld: missing funds / account closure dispute complaint against Santander UK Plc

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs W complained that Santander failed to trace money she believed was still held in a passbook account opened in 1991. The last passbook entry was in March 2004, but Mrs W did not contact Santander about the account until August 2025. Santander provided evidence that the account was closed on 30 August 2017 following a dormancy warning letter, with the remaining balance of approximately £80 paid out in cash. Mrs W had no recollection of this closure. The ombudsman found on the balance of probabilities that the account was likely closed as Santander stated and the funds were withdrawn, rejecting Mrs W's complaint as the uncancelled passbook alone was insufficient evidence that funds remained.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the balance of probabilities test and found it more likely than not that the account balance was withdrawn over time and the remaining £80.69 was paid out when the account was closed in August 2017. The ombudsman noted that memory can be unreliable over such a long period (over 20 years since last passbook entry and 9 years since closure), and that the dormancy warning letter and subsequent branch closure provided a reasonable explanation for the account closure. The uncancelled passbook alone was insufficient evidence that funds remained, as account holders could make transactions without the passbook using identification. The ombudsman rejected Mrs W's concerns about discrepancies in Santander's records as not material to the outcome.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website