Not upheld: service failure / transfer restrictions / security procedures complaint against National Westminster Bank Public Limited Company

Decision detail

Summary

Mr M and Mrs K complained that NatWest prevented them from transferring £10,000 to another account on the evening before a planned car purchase, causing them to miss the purchase and incur wasted travel costs. NatWest's security procedures required biometric registration and a working card reader to increase the transaction limit, neither of which were available. Although Mr M spent hours on phone calls being told there shouldn't be a problem, the ombudsman found NatWest's security measures were justified and the agents were genuinely trying to help. The ombudsman upheld NatWest's goodwill offer to refund the travel ticket costs as fair compensation, rejecting the broader complaint.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that NatWest's security measures (biometric registration and card reader requirements) were in place to protect customers and were justified. While the ombudsman acknowledged that Mr M was told there shouldn't be a problem and was asked to repeat actions multiple times, the agents were genuinely trying to help. The ombudsman agreed it would have been better had agents recognized earlier they couldn't help, but concluded it was preferable they tried rather than immediately refusing. The ombudsman found NatWest's offer to refund travel ticket costs was fair compensation for the inconvenience.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website