Upheld: poor customer service, failure to communicate service changes, delayed valuation provision complaint against Phoenix Life Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr J complained that Phoenix Life Limited treated him unfairly by providing valuations within 10 working days by post only, rather than the same-day phone valuations he previously received. He argued this prevented him from managing his investment effectively and that he was being treated differently from customers with policies on the new system. The ombudsman upheld the complaint, finding service failings in Phoenix's communication regarding the withdrawal of call-back services and its failure to acknowledge emails, but rejected Mr J's argument that the 10 working day timescale was unreasonable for a long-term investment. Phoenix was directed to pay £50 additional compensation and provide future valuations by password-protected email.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that while Phoenix met its 10 working day timescale for most valuations and did not entirely ignore Mr J's emails, there were service failings in communication. Phoenix failed to clearly inform Mr J that it was withdrawing the call-back service and would only provide post valuations, and failed to acknowledge his emails to the legacy team mailbox. The ombudsman rejected Mr J's argument that the 10 working day delay prevented him from making informed decisions about cashing in the policy, noting the investment is intended to be long-term and price fluctuations could occur regardless. However, the ombudsman agreed that better communication from Phoenix would have reduced Mr J's frustration and inconvenience.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website