Partially upheld: Lack of transparency regarding service charges and poor complaint handling complaint against IG Trading and Investments Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs S complained about IG regarding a five-fold increase in service charges on her Stocks and Shares ISA account (from £297.94 to £1,541.43 annually) and poor customer service when seeking clarification. The increase resulted from her purchasing US stock subject to a 0.5% FX fee, which IG disclosed in its terms and conditions and at the point of trade. The Ombudsman found IG's cost disclosure met FCA standards for good practice, though Mrs S felt the information was insufficient. The Ombudsman upheld the complaint regarding poor complaint handling and customer service but found the £200 remedy already offered by IG to be fair and reasonable, declining to order further compensation.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The Ombudsman applied FCA standards for fair, clear, and non-misleading pricing, including the Consumer Duty requirement to proactively disclose total costs before transactions. IG provided real-time cost estimates at the point of trade and categorised costs in annual statements, meeting industry good practice standards. While Mrs S desired more granular transaction-level detail, the Ombudsman found IG's approach compliant with regulatory expectations. Regarding complaint handling, the Ombudsman found IG's service fell short but determined the £200 remedy fell within the appropriate range (£100-£300) for distress and inconvenience requiring reasonable effort to resolve.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website