Not upheld: calculation error and lack of transparency in mortgage payment calculations complaint against Bank of Scotland plc trading as Halifax

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs M complained that Halifax failed to provide detailed calculations demonstrating it had corrected underpayments to her mortgage account resulting from a calculation error dating from April 2020. Halifax had identified that due to how manual payments were allocated to sub-accounts following arrears in 2017, Mrs M underpaid approximately £23 monthly over 74 months, resulting in approximately £1,700 in underfunding plus £500 in extra interest. Halifax paid approximately £2,200 to correct the error and offered £80 compensation but declined to provide month-by-month calculation breakdowns. The ombudsman upheld Halifax's position, finding the correction payment appeared adequate, the explanation sufficiently clear, and no practical benefit to requiring detailed calculations, while awarding the £80 compensation as fair and reasonable.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found Halifax provided a sufficiently clear explanation of how the underfunding error occurred and how it calculated the correction amount. While acknowledging Mrs M's understandable desire to verify the calculations, the ombudsman determined there was no evidence the calculations were incorrect and no practical benefit to requiring detailed month-by-month breakdowns. The ombudsman noted the FOS does not forensically examine lenders' calculations and must be fair to both parties. The £2,200 payment appeared to have fully corrected the financial position, and the £80 compensation for inconvenience was deemed fair and reasonable.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website