Not upheld: service failure and provision of incorrect information regarding mortgage application process complaint against Nationwide Building Society

Decision detail

Summary

Mr and Mrs G complained to Nationwide Building Society after being placed on an incorrect application process for additional borrowing on their mortgage with a £1 nominal balance. The adviser used the wrong process, and when Mr G called back the following day, he was informed that a remortgage would be required instead, taking approximately 10 weeks to complete. Mr and Mrs G needed the funds urgently for essential roof repairs and had to secure alternative borrowing at higher cost. Nationwide offered £150 compensation, which the ombudsman upheld as fair and reasonable, finding that even with correct information on day one, the timeline would have been identical and the complainants would still have needed alternative funding.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman acknowledged that Nationwide made an error in following the wrong process, but found no financial loss resulted from the one-day delay in providing correct information. Even if Mr and Mrs G had been informed correctly on 31 October 2025, the remortgage process would have taken the same 10 weeks, meaning they would still have needed to source alternative borrowing urgently. The ombudsman found that while the error caused stress and loss of expectation, the £150 compensation appropriately recognised this impact. The ombudsman also rejected arguments that Nationwide breached the FCA Consumer Duty, noting that while firms should avoid foreseeable harm, they are not responsible for preventing all harm, and mistakes can occur.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website