Not upheld: denial of online banking access to power of attorney complaint against Lloyds Bank PLC

Decision detail

Summary

Mr C, holding a Lasting Power of Attorney for his mother Mrs J, complained that Lloyds Bank removed Mrs J's online banking access and refused to grant him online access as an attorney because he resides abroad. Lloyds explained it discovered the account credentials were being shared in breach of terms and conditions, and its policy prohibits online access for attorneys without UK residency due to system limitations. The ombudsman found Lloyds acted fairly in restricting access to protect the account and that its commercial decision to refuse online access to non-UK resident attorneys was reasonable, with telephone banking offered as an alternative. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Lloyds acted fairly in restricting Mrs J's online access once it discovered the credentials were being shared, as this breached terms and conditions and the bank has a duty to protect customer accounts. While the ombudsman acknowledged the restriction was inconvenient for Mr C, it determined that Lloyds' commercial decision to refuse online access to attorneys resident outside the UK was within its discretion and not unreasonable. The ombudsman noted it cannot direct how banks run their business or systems, and that Lloyds provided reasonable alternative access through telephone banking.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website