Not upheld: unauthorized access to personal information complaint against Nationwide Building Society

Decision detail

Summary

Mr and Mrs W complained that a Nationwide staff member inappropriately accessed their personal information by looking at a clerk's screen during a branch visit. They had previously raised concerns about this specific individual and requested she not have access to their account. Nationwide investigated by reviewing CCTV footage and concluded the individual had looked towards Mr and Mrs W after recognizing them, not at the screen, and that account details would have been impossible to read from that distance. The ombudsman found Nationwide's investigation reasonable and fair, and system evidence confirmed no unauthorized access had occurred, so the complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Nationwide's investigation was reasonable and fair. The Branch Manager reviewed CCTV footage and concluded the individual likely looked towards Mr and Mrs W after recognizing them, not at the screen, and that it would have been impossible to read account details from the distance and angle involved. System evidence confirmed no unauthorized access occurred. While the loss of CCTV footage was disappointing, the balance of evidence supported Nationwide's conclusion that no inappropriate access took place.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website