Not upheld: delay in providing insurance quotations complaint against Stonebridge Mortgage Solutions Ltd

Decision detail

Summary

Miss A and Mr Q complained that Stonebridge delayed in providing insurance quotations for their mortgage, which resulted in quotations of around £300 per month that exceeded their stated budget, causing them to lose a £2,000 deposit and face potential breach of contract penalties. The ombudsman found no evidence of undue or excessive delay by Stonebridge, noting the requests lacked urgency and Stonebridge had limited visibility of the house purchase timeline. The ombudsman concluded that even if delays had occurred, they did not directly cause the breach, as Miss A and Mr Q made their own decision to sign binding contracts without full quotations and had alternative options such as shopping around for insurance. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found no undue or excessive delay in Stonebridge arranging the insurance quotations, noting the requests lacked particular insistency or urgency and Stonebridge was acting on limited information about the house purchase timeline. Even if delays had occurred, the ombudsman did not accept that such delays directly caused the breach of contract, as Miss A and Mr Q made their own decision to sign binding contracts without full insurance quotations. The ombudsman noted Miss A's non-attendance at the insurance meeting, the availability of optional insurance alternatives, and the option to shop around with other providers.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website