Upheld: poor service, incomplete advice, misinformation, unreasonable delays in processing account changes complaint against Charter Court Financial Services Limited, trading as Charter Savings Bank
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-6268254 of 2026-04-02T00:00:00+00:00. poor service, incomplete advice, misinformation, unreasonable delays in processing account changes complaint against Charter Court Financial Services Limited, trading as Charter Savings Bank. Outcome: Upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-6268254 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2026-04-02T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | Charter Court Financial Services Limited, trading as Charter Savings Bank |
| Product | Savings / ISA |
| Claim type | poor service, incomplete advice, misinformation, unreasonable delays in processing account changes |
| Outcome | Upheld |
| Remedy | CSB must pay Mr I £200 total compensation for distress and inconvenience (may deduct the £50 already paid). CSB must also pay Mr I the difference in interest rates between 4.42% gross (alternative provider) and 3.83% gross (CSB account) for the period from 23 December 2025 to 13 February 2026, calculated on the funds Mr I was unable to access during this delay. |
Summary
Mr I complained that CSB provided incomplete advice and poor service when he attempted to change his nominated bank account on 5 December 2025 to transfer funds to a higher-interest account. CSB failed to inform Mr I that the account change would trigger additional security verification checks, provided contradictory information about account balance requirements, and caused a significant delay in delivering the authentication code (not received until 30 January 2026, with the code only becoming usable on 12 February 2026). During this 70-day delay, Mr I was unable to access his funds and lost the opportunity to earn interest at the higher rate of 4.42% offered by an alternative provider, compared to CSB's 3.83%. The ombudsman upheld the complaint, finding CSB's service was poor despite following its security procedures, and ordered compensation of £200 plus payment of the interest rate differential for the delay period.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
Although CSB followed its stated security procedures, it did so with poor service to Mr I. CSB failed to inform Mr I during his initial calls on 5 and 6 December that additional security checks would be triggered, which would have allowed him to anticipate the additional steps. CSB provided inconsistent information between its letter of 8 December (stating zero balance not allowed) and its call on 15 December (stating zero balance acceptable if active). The significant delay in delivering the authentication code, combined with misinformation about delivery dates and the eventual need to wait until 12 February 2026 before the code became usable, caused Mr I unacceptable delays in accessing his funds and making investment decisions. While CSB cannot control postal delivery, it failed to manage Mr I's expectations and placed an unacceptable burden on him to pursue the promised code on multiple occasions.
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| Charter Court Financial Services Limited, trading as Charter Savings Bank, all decisions | 4 | 25% |
| Savings / ISA, all decisions | 7,667 | 22% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website