Not upheld: account restriction and access; compliance with legal and regulatory obligations complaint against Nationwide Building Society

Decision detail

Summary

Ms M complained that Nationwide Building Society unfairly restricted her accounts in late 2025 during an ongoing review, believing the restriction required a court freezing order and that she had done nothing wrong. Ms M stated she was using the account legitimately to raise funds for persons facing genocide and famine, and had followed anti-money laundering best practices. Nationwide maintained the restriction was necessary to comply with legal and regulatory obligations and refused to provide details, notice, or a timeframe for the review. The ombudsman did not uphold the complaint, accepting confidential information from Nationwide that justified the restriction and finding no breach of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 or FCA principles.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Nationwide has legal and regulatory requirements they must meet when providing accounts. The confidential information provided by Nationwide demonstrated a reasonable basis for the account restriction and continued blocking. The ombudsman determined that providing notice prior to restriction could have undermined Nationwide's ability to comply with their legal obligations. No specific timeframe or substantive updates were required given the nature of the review. The actions taken did not breach the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 or FCA Principle 6.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website