Not upheld: unfair contract terms, account migration, breach of promise complaint against Santander UK Plc

Decision detail

Summary

Miss S, a sole trader, complained that Santander unfairly migrated her free business account opened in 2009 to a fee-paying account (£9.99 monthly) in 2025, breaking its 'free banking forever' promise. While the account was marketed with this promise, Santander argued the promise was never included in the terms and conditions, which contained clauses allowing changes with notice. The ombudsman found Santander was entitled to make the changes relying on contractual terms that had been in place for 15 years, that adequate notice was given, and that significant regulatory changes since 2009 justified the fee. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that while the account was marketed as 'free banking forever', the contractual terms and conditions contained standard clauses allowing Santander to make changes with notice. These clauses were present from the account opening and in all subsequent versions. The ombudsman considered that significant changes in banking regulation since 2009 (anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism financing, fraud prevention) justified increased costs. Although Miss S benefitted from 15 years of free banking, the terms and conditions entitled Santander to make changes with adequate notice, which was provided. The ombudsman rejected arguments about misleading advertising, finding no misrepresentation occurred at the point of sale and that Miss S received what she expected at that time.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website