Not upheld: service failure, inadequate communication, complaint handling complaint against Bank of Scotland plc trading as Halifax

Decision detail

Summary

Mr V complained that Bank of Scotland plc trading as Halifax failed to inform him about Co-Servicing on his accounts and failed to adequately handle his queries and complaint. In December 2025, Mr V discovered all his Lloyds group accounts appearing together on his app and was concerned about security. After initial confusion between Co-Servicing and open banking, Halifax explained that Co-Servicing cannot be removed but accounts can be hidden. Mr V's subsequent attempts to remove his Halifax account entirely were unsuccessful, and he experienced frustration with online chat timeouts. Halifax paid £75 compensation for poor service during the online chat. The ombudsman did not uphold the complaint, finding that Halifax had adequately explained Co-Servicing and that the compensation was appropriate for the service failures experienced.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that although Mr V initially confused Co-Servicing with open banking, Halifax provided a full explanation of what Co-Servicing is and how to hide accounts. The ombudsman noted that Mr V was initially told about Co-Servicing and advised how to hide accounts on 13 December, and although he was not satisfied, the subsequent chat timeouts and lack of contact for three days were not solely Halifax's responsibility. The ombudsman could not make a finding on whether the October 2025 letter was sent to Mr V given the millions of letters sent and Mr V's opt-out of paper communications. The £75 compensation was deemed appropriate for the frustration caused during the one-hour chat on 17 April. Overall, the ombudsman was satisfied that Halifax adequately dealt with Mr V's queries about Co-Servicing, which is a system applied to all Lloyds Banking Group customers.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website