Not upheld: service failure - delayed setup of income payments and failure to arrange ISA contribution complaint against St. James's Place Wealth Management Plc

Decision detail

Summary

Mr M complained that SJP delayed setting up income payments from his inherited investments and failed to move £18,000 into an ISA to use his full 2024/25 tax year allowance. Mr M claimed he had requested both arrangements during a September 2024 meeting with an SJP adviser, but SJP stated no clear instructions were given until December 2024 for income and April 2025 for the ISA. The ombudsman found on the balance of probabilities that no clear request for the ISA contribution was made in September 2024, as it was not mentioned in contemporaneous financial documents or subsequent meetings. While the adviser could have been more proactive, income payments were set up within a suitable timeframe. The ombudsman rejected Mr M's complaint and made no award.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman concluded on the balance of probabilities that no clear request was made to SJP to arrange an ISA contribution of £18,000 in the September 2024 meeting. This conclusion was based on the absence of any mention of this objective in the September 2024 financial review document and the January 2025 recommendation letter, and the fact that Mr M did not raise the issue during the 10 January 2025 meeting. Regarding income payments, while the adviser could have been more proactive, the payments were set up within a suitable timeframe and SJP did not act unreasonably. The evidence did not suggest SJP's focus was excessively concentrated on the provider H transfer at the expense of Mr M's other objectives.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website