Not upheld: delays in pension encashment and excessive ID verification requirements for overseas customer complaint against ReAssure UK Services Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr I complained that ReAssure unreasonably delayed encashment of his pension policy by making excessive ID verification demands. Mr I, living overseas for 17 years, initially provided a partial passport copy, but ReAssure subsequently requested certified copies from UK professionals on 26 September 2025. ReAssure later admitted this letter contained an error as it would not expect an overseas customer to obtain UK certification, and the error was not corrected for 88 working days. The ombudsman found ReAssure's underlying ID requirements were not unreasonable given the £31,000 fund value and the need to verify the correct recipient, and that ReAssure had made efforts to accommodate Mr I's situation. The ombudsman upheld ReAssure's offer of £500 compensation for the admitted error and a loss assessment but did not uphold the main complaint.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that while ReAssure made an error in its 26 September 2025 letter by requiring UK certification for an overseas customer, its underlying ID requirements were not unreasonable given the £31,000 fund value and the need to verify the correct recipient. The ombudsman noted that ReAssure had adjusted its requirements to accommodate Mr I's overseas situation by accepting uncertified documents. Although Mr I was vulnerable due to financial hardship, the ombudsman concluded that ReAssure's requirements would have been the same for any customer and that the vulnerability did not change the reasonableness of the ID verification process. The ombudsman acknowledged ReAssure's efforts to assist Mr I and found the £500 compensation for the admitted error to be fair.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website