Not upheld: Service failures generally complaint against Bank of Scotland Plc

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs Y complained about ongoing issues with two Halifax savings accounts opened in May 2025, including difficulties with account opening, duplicate letters without proper account details, and inability to set up standing orders to fund the accounts. After receiving only one initial payment of £100 in June 2025, no further payments were received. Halifax paid £125 compensation for the duplicate letters and poor service. The ombudsman found that while Halifax's service was poor, the accounts functioned correctly with no internal blocks, and no evidence showed Halifax rejected any standing order payments. The ombudsman concluded the complaint was not upheld and the £125 compensation was fair.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that while Halifax provided poor service through duplicate letters and delayed communication of account details, this did not prevent the accounts from functioning correctly. The core issue of standing order payments not being received could not be attributed to Halifax as no internal blocks existed on the accounts and no evidence showed Halifax rejected any standing order payments. The ombudsman noted that Mrs Y's separate complaint against her own bank found that bank was also not responsible, suggesting the issue may lie with how Mrs Y set up the standing order in relation to the account terms requiring payments between £10-£100 monthly.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website