Not upheld: mis-selling - provision of out-of-date brochure with inaccurate benefit information complaint against Mercer Limited, trading as Mercer Marsh Benefits (MMB)

Decision detail

Summary

Mr W, on behalf of his company C, complained that Mercer Marsh Benefits mis-sold a private medical insurance policy by providing an out-of-date brochure showing more generous Employee Wellbeing Solution benefits than were actually available. The brochure sent on 20 March 2025 indicated the benefit was available to employees, spouses and dependants over 16, but the updated April 2025 brochure restricted it to the employee only with reduced frequency. Although Mr W queried the discrepancy on 6-7 April 2025, he received the correct information on 8 April 2025 and instructed MMB to proceed with the policy transfer anyway on 7 April 2025. The ombudsman found no significant detriment as Mr W was aware of the correct terms before purchasing and chose to proceed, and as the complainant is a business entity rather than an individual, compensation for distress and inconvenience could not be awarded. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that although MMB provided an out-of-date brochure, the covering email and recommendation report indicated the benefits were for lead members only. Mr W received the correct information on 8 April 2025 before the policy inception on 10 April 2025 and chose to proceed anyway. The ombudsman concluded Mr W would likely have purchased the policy regardless of the initial error, and that he suffered only a loss of expectation rather than actual detriment. As the eligible complainant is a business entity rather than an individual, compensation for distress and inconvenience cannot be awarded.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website