Partially upheld: payment blocking and fraud prevention procedures; misinformation during customer service calls complaint against Bank of Scotland plc trading as Halifax

Decision detail

Summary

Mr O and Mrs H complained that Halifax unreasonably stopped a £800 payment transfer on 29 November 2025 and diverted them to the fraud team. Halifax's anti-fraud systems flagged the transaction as potentially unusual and requested additional information from Mr O, who initially declined to provide it. The payment was released the following day after Mr O provided the necessary information. The ombudsman found Halifax's decision to conduct security checks was reasonable and compliant with FCA regulatory obligations to prevent fraud. However, the complaint was upheld in part because Halifax staff misinformed Mr O during a call by advising him to retry the payment when a block was still in place, causing unnecessary confusion. The ombudsman awarded £50 compensation for this misinformation, finding the overall impact minimal as no financial harm resulted from the one-day delay.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

Banks have a regulatory obligation under FCA requirements to implement systems that monitor accounts and interdict potentially fraudulent transactions. Halifax's decision to stop the payment and request additional information was a reasonable exercise of this obligation. However, Halifax provided misinformation by advising Mr O to retry the payment when a block was in place, which caused unnecessary confusion and frustration. The impact was minimal as it did not change the requirement for information before release, and no financial harm resulted from the one-day delay.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website