Not upheld: mis-selling of income protection policy complaint against Wesleyan Financial Services Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Miss B and Mr S complained that Wesleyan mis-sold an income protection policy, claiming Miss B was told the application was for illustration purposes only and that she felt pressured into completing it. Miss B stated she never received notification that the policy had commenced and only discovered it when she noticed payments in her bank account. Wesleyan maintained that Miss B completed the application following a recommendation, was accepted by the insurer, and was sent a letter confirming the policy's commencement. The ombudsman found no evidence of mis-selling, noting that Miss B had declined other protection policies (indicating she understood she could decline cover), had a further opportunity to withdraw when completing the medical questionnaire, and that postal notification is an appropriate communication method. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Miss B completed the application following a detailed conversation with the adviser where she instructed him to proceed. The fact that she declined other protection policies demonstrated she understood she could decline cover, undermining her claim that she felt compelled to take the income protection policy. Although Miss B did not receive the postal notification letter, this was not sufficient to constitute mis-selling, as postal correspondence is an appropriate communication method and there was no evidence Miss B had instructed Wesleyan not to write to her address. The ombudsman found no evidence of pressure tactics in the emails reviewed. Miss B had a further opportunity to withdraw when completing the medical questionnaire in April but did not do so. The absence of recorded conversations meant the ombudsman could not verify Miss B's claim that she was told the policy would be delayed pending her acceptance.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website