Not upheld: administrative error / incorrect address handling / data protection complaint against Cater Allen Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs H and her son, as trustees of a trust, applied for an account with Cater Allen in April 2025. Due to an incorrect door number in the trust deed, Cater Allen sent Mrs H's welcome letter and a change of address letter to the wrong address, containing her customer identification number and account name. When Mrs H contacted the bank, she was incorrectly told no letters had been sent, and promised confirmatory emails were not sent. Cater Allen subsequently apologised and credited the account with £300. Mrs H disputed this was sufficient compensation and referred the matter to the FOS. The ombudsman upheld the bank's position, finding that £300 was reasonable compensation given that the letters did not contain highly sensitive information such as account numbers or access codes, no financial loss occurred, and the bank had acknowledged and apologised for the error.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman accepted that the bank's error was serious and acknowledged the distress caused to Mrs H and her son by personal correspondence being sent to the wrong address. However, the ombudsman found that the compensation of £300 was reasonable because: (1) the letters did not contain highly sensitive information such as account numbers, balances, passwords, or access codes; (2) no financial loss or unauthorised access occurred; (3) the bank explained the error, accepted responsibility, and apologised; and (4) the £300 award was in line with FOS guidance and comparable cases.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website