Not upheld: Account administration errors complaint against Paragon Bank Plc

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs W complained to Paragon Bank Plc after discovering that her ISA transfer in August 2024 had been moved to a savings account instead of another ISA account, a mistake she discovered over a year later in August 2025. Paragon acknowledged poor service and communication but maintained it had done nothing wrong, as Mrs W and her representative had executed the transfer online and would have seen a warning about loss of ISA tax-free status. The ombudsman did not uphold the complaint, finding that the warning was in place during the transfer, a confirmation message was sent, and Mrs W bore responsibility for ensuring the transfer was completed correctly. The ombudsman upheld Paragon's offer of £50 compensation for poor communication as fair and reasonable.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Paragon provided adequate warnings about the consequences of transferring money from an ISA to a non-ISA product, and that Mrs W and her representative were responsible for executing the transaction correctly. Although Paragon's communication about the error could have been better, the bank was not responsible for the customer's failure to complete the transfer as intended. The delay of over a year before Mrs W contacted Paragon made it difficult to rectify the situation.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website