Not upheld: service failure - lack of communication regarding account availability and compensation adequacy complaint against Cynergy Bank Plc

Decision detail

Summary

Mr D opened an Online ISA with Cynergy Bank Plc on 21 November but could not credit the account immediately, experiencing a three-day delay until 24 November. He was not informed of the normal provisioning delay and subsequently had issues with verification and accessing a manager. Cynergy upheld his complaint and offered £50.35 compensation, which Mr D rejected as insufficient, requesting £150 instead. The ombudsman found the only service failing was lack of communication about account availability, and determined the £50.35 compensation was fair and reasonable for this administrative error.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that while a short delay for account provisioning is reasonable, Cynergy should have communicated this to Mr D. The verification process and manager callback delay were not unreasonable. The only service failing was the lack of communication about account availability. The three-day delay constitutes a minor administrative error with minimal impact. The £50.35 compensation (£50 for inconvenience plus £0.35 for lost interest) falls within the FOS framework for one-off administrative errors and is proportionate.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website