Not upheld: service failure, incorrect information provision, deposit protection scheme advice complaint against Nationwide Building Society

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs C complained that Nationwide Building Society failed to transfer funds to her husband's ISA, causing her to lose interest and exposing her savings to FSCS coverage limits. She also complained about incorrect FSCS information from a telephony agent and the handling of her complaint. The ombudsman found that Mrs C would not have earned interest regardless, no negative impact resulted from the FSCS concern, and the complaint handling element fell outside the ombudsman's jurisdiction. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Mrs C would not have earned interest on the transferred funds regardless of Nationwide's actions, as the funds were always intended for the ISA transfer. Regarding the FSCS concern, the ombudsman reasoned that no negative impact occurred as the FSCS scheme only applies if the bank fails, and no bank failure occurred. The complaint handling element was found to fall outside the ombudsman's jurisdiction as it is not a regulated activity under FCA rules and is not ancillary to any regulated activity.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website