Not upheld: customer service - IVR call routing delay complaint against National Westminster Bank Public Limited Company

Decision detail

Summary

Mr C complained that NatWest's IVR system took approximately six minutes to route his call to a customer service assistant, causing him stress and anxiety. He sought recognition that the experience was unreasonable, an apology, compensation, and system improvements. NatWest rejected the complaint, stating the wait time was within its service standards. The ombudsman did not uphold the complaint, finding that the IVR system worked as intended, the wait time was acceptable, and NatWest had done nothing wrong to warrant compensation.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that while Mr C had expectations about how quickly the call should be handled, NatWest is entitled to have systems and standards it deems acceptable. The six-minute wait time was within NatWest's service standards and there was no evidence of system malfunction or failure. The ombudsman can only award compensation if the firm did something wrong that caused distress and inconvenience, which was not the case here.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website