Not upheld: unfair contract terms variation and removal of fee-free banking complaint against Santander UK Plc

Decision detail

Summary

Mr W, a sole trader, complained that Santander unfairly removed the 'free banking forever' promise on his business account opened in 2001 and migrated him to an account with a £9.99 monthly fee in October 2025. While both parties acknowledged the account was originally marketed as offering free banking forever, Santander argued the formal terms and conditions always allowed for changes with notice. The ombudsman found that the terms and conditions, which form the binding contract, consistently permitted Santander to make changes and that Santander provided the required 60 days' notice in July 2025. The ombudsman concluded that Santander was entitled to make this commercial decision and did not uphold the complaint.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that while the marketing material promised free banking forever, the formal terms and conditions applicable to the account have consistently allowed Santander to make changes with proper notice. The terms and conditions, which form the contractual basis, explicitly permitted changes to fees and costs. Santander provided the required 60 days' notice in July 2025 before implementing the change in October 2025. The ombudsman considered that free business banking is not a typical offering from major retail banks and that Santander was entitled to make commercial decisions about uneconomic products. Even if the marketing material had formed part of the contract, the terms and conditions would still have allowed the change.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website