Not upheld: unfair application requirements / account opening process complaint against Zopa Bank Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr C applied for a current account with Zopa and provided passport and credit card statements, but refused to provide a bank statement when requested. Zopa declined his application as a result. Mr C complained that Zopa unfairly required the bank statement, arguing it was not listed as mandatory on their website. The ombudsman found that Zopa has discretion to determine what information is needed to meet its legal and regulatory obligations, that bank statements are commonly requested for customer verification, and that Mr C's prior experience with impersonation fraud made additional verification reasonable. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

Zopa has legal and regulatory obligations to know its customers, protect persons from financial harm, and prevent financial crime. Banks have discretion to determine what information is needed to meet these obligations. Requesting bank statements is a common practice for customer verification. Mr C's history of impersonation fraud made additional verification reasonable. Zopa's decision to decline the application when Mr C refused to provide the requested information was fair and proportionate.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website