Not upheld: failure to action switch recommendations; lack of agreed service standards complaint against KW Wealth Planning Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr V, a former employee of KW Wealth Planning Limited, complained that KW failed to action fund switch recommendations he had accepted for his pension after he left employment in February 2025. Mr V claimed KW should have continued providing the same service it had provided when he was employed, and that the lack of a new Terms of Business or disengagement letter evidenced ongoing service. However, the ombudsman found that no signed Client Agreement or Terms of Business existed between Mr V and KW, meaning there were no agreed service standards and no obligation on KW to process switches. Although KW clearly communicated the required documentation needed to continue servicing the pension, Mr V did not provide it. The ombudsman upheld KW's £100 offer for distress caused by a delay in processing March 2025 switches but did not uphold the complaint.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that without a signed Client Agreement or Terms of Business between Mr V and KW, there were no agreed service standards and therefore no obligation on KW to review, administer, or process fund switches for Mr V's pension. Although Mr V claimed he should have continued to receive the same service as a business J client following KW's acquisition, no evidence was provided that he was a business J client or that any such agreement existed. KW clearly communicated what documentation was needed to continue servicing the pension, and Mr V's failure to provide it meant no service agreement was in place. The ombudsman noted that the switch recommendations came from business C, not KW, and that Mr V himself had locked the fund preventing certain switches. The £100 offered for the March 2025 delay was deemed appropriate as KW had calculated the delay resulted in a small gain for Mr V.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website