Not upheld: failure to notify of interest rate reduction complaint against West Bromwich Building Society

Decision detail

Summary

Mr D complained that West Bromwich Building Society failed to notify him of an interest rate reduction on his savings account. He opened the account on 8 August 2025 with £1, and WB notified customers of a rate reduction on 2 September 2025 (effective 15 September 2025). However, Mr D only deposited £50,000 on 8 September 2025, after the notification had been sent. The account-specific terms and conditions stated that WB would only notify customers of rate reductions if their account balance was £100 or more at the time of notification. The ombudsman found that WB had complied with its contractual obligations and did not uphold the complaint, as Mr D's account balance was below £100 when notification was required to be sent.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that the account-specific terms and conditions were clear and unambiguous: WB was only required to notify customers of interest rate reductions if their account balance was £100 or more at the time of notification. Since Mr D had only £1 in his account on 2 September 2025 (the notification date, which was 14 days before the rate change took effect), WB had no obligation to notify him. The ombudsman rejected Mr D's argument that WB should have monitored the account for deposits between notification and implementation, noting that WB was not required to track account activity during that period. The ombudsman also noted that Mr D knew the interest rate was variable and that WB made its current rates publicly available.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website