Not upheld: customer treatment and professional conduct in branch complaint against Nationwide Building Society

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs H complained about her treatment by Nationwide Building Society staff in a branch, alleging a staff member approached her inappropriately while she was on the phone in the queue, invaded her personal space, and left her feeling uncomfortable. Nationwide disputed this account, stating staff acted professionally with good intentions and that Mrs H raised her voice inappropriately, leading them to add a six-month alert to her profile. The ombudsman reviewed conflicting accounts and silent CCTV footage but found insufficient evidence to support either party's version of events conclusively. On the balance of probabilities, the ombudsman determined Nationwide had not acted unfairly or unreasonably and declined to uphold the complaint.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that conflicting accounts from both parties could not be definitively resolved by the silent CCTV footage. Without audio evidence, it was impossible to determine precisely what was said or how it sounded to either party. The ombudsman applied the balance of probabilities test and found insufficient evidence to conclude that Nationwide acted unfairly or unprofessionally. The staff member's approach appeared to be motivated by a desire to assist customers, and the physical proximity was not unreasonable. The ombudsman noted that subjective feelings about such interactions are exclusive to the individual experiencing them, making such complaints uniquely challenging to determine.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website