Not upheld: share dealing error and correction process complaint against Hargreaves Lansdown Asset Management Limited
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-6297621 of 2026-05-05T00:00:00+00:00. share dealing error and correction process complaint against Hargreaves Lansdown Asset Management Limited. Outcome: Not upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-6297621 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2026-05-05T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | Hargreaves Lansdown Asset Management Limited |
| Product | investment account / share dealing |
| Claim type | share dealing error and correction process |
| Outcome | Not upheld |
| Remedy | No additional remedy ordered. The £100 compensation already paid, the apology provided, and the offer to cancel transactions and recredit shares were deemed sufficient. |
Summary
Mrs G complained to Hargreaves Lansdown after discovering that funds had been removed from her investment account following share sales. The firm had displayed incorrect share prices in US dollars rather than sterling, resulting in inflated deposits that were later corrected. Hargreaves Lansdown apologised, paid £100 compensation, and offered to reverse the trades. The ombudsman found that the firm's account terms and conditions authorised the correction and that the firm acted fairly and reasonably in remedying the error. The complaint was not upheld as the compensation and remedial actions offered were appropriate.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
The ombudsman found that the account terms and conditions explicitly authorised Hargreaves Lansdown to take reasonable actions to remedy errors by placing the account in the position it would have been had the error not occurred. The correction was therefore fair and lawful. The ombudsman focused on the impact of the error and how the firm remedied it rather than investigating the root cause of the system error. The £100 compensation, apology, and offer to reverse trades were considered appropriate remedies. The ombudsman rejected Mrs G's request for reinstatement of the inflated funds as it would be unfair for a consumer to benefit from a business error.
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| Hargreaves Lansdown Asset Management Limited, all decisions | 593 | 17% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website