Not upheld: pension transfer delay / service failure complaint against PensionBee Ltd

Decision detail

Summary

Mr S complained that PensionBee caused delays in processing his pension transfer from TPT, which took approximately six months instead of the initially quoted 12 weeks. The ombudsman initially issued a provisional decision upholding the complaint and recommending £150 compensation, finding PB had been insufficiently proactive in chasing TPT for updates after sending paper transfer forms. However, after PB provided detailed context showing they were managing over 1,800 TPT transfers all experiencing severe systemic delays due to Origo technical issues and TPT's operational problems, and had adopted a pragmatic high-level engagement strategy with TPT rather than individual case chasing, the ombudsman reversed the decision. The ombudsman concluded PB had taken all reasonable steps available to them and that the transfer delays were genuinely caused by TPT's systemic failures outside PB's control, therefore the complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman initially found PB had caused approximately four weeks of delay by not chasing TPT between 1 October and 28 October 2025, and again between 28 October and 2 December 2025. However, after PB provided detailed context showing they were managing 1,800+ TPT transfers all experiencing severe delays, had adopted a high-level engagement strategy with TPT senior management rather than individual case chasing, and were aware that paper transfers require significantly longer processing times than electronic transfers, the ombudsman concluded PB had taken all reasonable steps. The ombudsman found that waiting four weeks to contact TPT after sending paper forms was reasonable given the systemic issues and extra processing steps involved, and that PB's business decision to focus on process-level engagement with TPT rather than individual case chasing was pragmatic. The ombudsman determined the transfer delays were genuinely outside PB's control and caused by TPT's systemic failures.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website