Not upheld: withdrawal of platform access/security policy application complaint against INTEGRATED FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS LTD (trading as Transact)

Decision detail

Summary

Mr L complained that Transact unfairly withdrew his personal trading access to his annuity portfolio after 20+ years of use, following the implementation of Multi Factor Authentication in 2025. Mr L had been granted 'read/write' access in 2016 following a CEO intervention, though no written agreement documented this arrangement. When Transact discovered Mr L still had personal trading access during the MFA implementation process, they informed him this access would cease unless L&C (the portfolio trustees) provided written consent. L&C refused consent unless Mr L became a self-direct investor, which required a Power of Attorney registered in Gibraltar that Mr L could not obtain. The ombudsman did not uphold the complaint, finding that Transact acted fairly in applying security measures consistently and reasonably in requiring their client's (L&C's) authorization for any special arrangements.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

While sympathetic to Mr L's situation and acknowledging his 20+ year trading history without issues, the ombudsman found that Transact acted fairly in applying security measures (MFA) consistently to all customers. The ombudsman considered it reasonable for Transact to require consent from L&C (their client and the portfolio trustees) before granting special arrangements that deviate from standard security protocols. The ombudsman noted that Mr L was arguably in a more favourable position than other customers in similar circumstances by having had 'read/write' access at all. No financial loss was demonstrated, and Transact had not acted wrongly in implementing the MFA security measure.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website