Not upheld: service quality, delays, complaints handling, and failure to follow customer instructions complaint against Royal London Mutual Insurance Society Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr K complained about Royal London's handling of his applications for income protection insurance and life cover, citing delays, concerns about GP reports, data issues, and poor complaints handling. Royal London accepted its service fell below standard and offered £150 compensation, which the investigator found reasonable. The ombudsman upheld this assessment, finding no unreasonable delays, that Royal London was entitled to review the second GP report under Mr K's signed consent, and that £150 was appropriate compensation for the complaint handling failures and failure to use recorded delivery as requested.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Royal London did not cause unreasonable delays in processing the application, was entitled to review the second GP report as Mr K had signed a consent document, and that the £150 compensation offered was appropriate under FOS award bands for repeat small mistakes or larger mistakes requiring reasonable effort to sort out. The ombudsman noted that Mr K did receive a response and was able to have his complaint investigated by the FOS, and that the recorded delivery issue was not ongoing or long-term.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website