Not upheld: statement clarity and discrepancy explanation complaint against HSBC UK Bank Plc trading as First Direct

Decision detail

Summary

Mr N complained about a £1.54 discrepancy on his HSBC Gold Card annual statement where total transactions (£13,890.78) did not match total repaid (£13,892.32). The discrepancy arose because a payment made after the statement period start date was included in the annual statement totals. While the statement lacked clarity on this point and caused Mr N to spend time cross-checking his accounts, HSBC's customer support agent provided a correct explanation within 16 minutes and no actual error or financial loss occurred. The ombudsman found the apology offered was sufficient and did not uphold the complaint.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman acknowledged that the statement lacked clarity and caused Mr N confusion and inconvenience. However, the ombudsman found that HSBC had not made an error, the first chat agent provided a correct explanation within a reasonable timeframe (16 minutes), and the apology offered was sufficient. The ombudsman reviewed the underlying statements and confirmed that the discrepancy arose legitimately from a payment made after the statement period start date being included in the 2024/25 statement, while the related purchases were in the 2023/24 statement. The ombudsman concluded that while the statement could have been clearer, the threshold for compensation was not met given the swift resolution and absence of any actual error or financial loss.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website