Not upheld: service failure and account closure communication complaint against Bank of Scotland plc trading as Halifax
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-6058464 of 2026-04-02T00:00:00+00:00. service failure and account closure communication complaint against Bank of Scotland plc trading as Halifax. Outcome: Not upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-6058464 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2026-04-02T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | Bank of Scotland plc trading as Halifax |
| Product | Current account |
| Claim type | service failure and account closure communication |
| Outcome | Not upheld |
| Remedy | Halifax must pay £50 compensation to Mr T for failure to explain the account closure to him when he contacted the firm. |
Summary
Mr T complained that Halifax repeatedly returned a £1 monthly standing order payment from another account. Halifax had closed Mr T's account after he failed to respond to account review emails sent to his correct email address. While the ombudsman found Halifax acted fairly in closing the account and returning payments, Halifax's agents should have explained the closure when Mr T contacted them. The ombudsman upheld Halifax's offer of £50 compensation for this service failure as fair and reasonable, and required Halifax to pay this amount.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
The ombudsman found that Halifax acted fairly in closing Mr T's account because it had sent review emails to the correct address and Mr T failed to respond. Therefore, Halifax did not act wrongly in returning the standing order payments. However, Halifax's agents should have proactively explained the account closure when Mr T contacted them, and the £50 compensation offered for this service failure was deemed fair and reasonable.
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| Bank of Scotland plc trading as Halifax, all decisions | 143 | 9% |
| Current account, all decisions | 45,590 | 19% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website