Not upheld: account restriction and access; account opening procedures complaint against TSB Bank plc

Decision detail

Summary

Mr W complained that TSB Bank plc blocked his newly opened current account on 13 September 2025 after he attempted a card payment, requiring him to submit identity documents for secondary verification checks. The account remained restricted for four days until 17 September 2025. An investigator recommended £150 compensation, but TSB rejected this and requested ombudsman review. The ombudsman found that account restrictions pending identity checks are standard banking practice, the four-day timeframe was reasonable given the Saturday submission, and TSB had not acted in error. The complaint was not upheld and no remedy was ordered.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman accepted that banks must carry out identity checks on new accounts and that restricting an account pending such checks is a standard and reasonable practice. While acknowledging Mr W's inconvenience, the ombudsman found that the four-day timeframe (from Saturday submission to Wednesday resolution) was not unreasonable given the weekend delay. The ombudsman determined it was TSB's commercial judgment whether to complete checks before or after account activation, and that TSB did not act unreasonably in either decision. The ombudsman noted that while the situation was unfortunate, it did not result from any error by TSB.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website