Not upheld: Account administration errors complaint against Santander UK Plc

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs P, a sole trader, complained that Santander introduced a £9.99 monthly fee on her business account without proper notice, despite the account being originally marketed as 'free forever' in 2002. Santander had migrated the account to a new Classic Account with different charging terms. The ombudsman found that while the original marketing promised free banking, the contractual terms and conditions at all stages permitted changes with notice, and Santander provided adequate notification through a July 2025 letter and three statement reminders. The ombudsman rejected Mrs P's arguments that the letter was not received, that more notification was required, or that customer acknowledgment should have been mandatory, concluding that Santander acted fairly within its contractual rights.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman determined that while the account was originally marketed as 'free forever', the contractual terms and conditions at all stages permitted the bank to make changes with notice. The terms and conditions are given more weight than advertisements as they represent the actual contract. Santander provided adequate notice through a letter dated 4 July 2025 and three prominent reminders on bank statements before implementation. The ombudsman found it reasonable to hold the customer responsible for non-delivery of correctly addressed mail by the postal service, and that one letter of notification is standard practice applied equally to all customers regardless of account longevity.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website