Not upheld: Product withdrawal notification and communication complaint against Skipton Building Society

Decision detail

Summary

Mr M complained that Skipton Building Society failed to notify him that a 15-month fixed rate ISA product he had selected was no longer available following maturity of his existing ISA, resulting in his funds being transferred to a lower-rate default product. Skipton had sent notification letters to Mr M's registered address, including an initial maturity letter explaining that products could be withdrawn and a letter on maturity date advising the product was unavailable. Mr M claimed he did not receive the maturity date letter and only discovered the issue weeks later. The ombudsman did not uphold the complaint, finding that Skipton sent the letters to the correct address and that Mr M likely received them, with any postal delays being outside Skipton's control.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Skipton did not act unfairly in withdrawing the product as Mr M was made aware this could happen in the initial maturity letter. The ombudsman determined that Skipton sent the notification letters to the correct registered address and that Mr M likely received them, evidenced by his receipt of other letters and his provision of a copy of the 8 October letter. Any postal delays are outside Skipton's control. The ombudsman noted it is not the role of the FOS to review a firm's product withdrawal policies, which is the regulator's role.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website