Not upheld: service complaint - account closure handling and customer service complaint against Santander UK Plc

Decision detail

Summary

Mr B complained about poor service following Santander's closure of his account while he was living abroad. Santander sent the closure notice and cheque to his old UK address rather than his new address abroad, leaving him unaware of the closure until his banking services stopped working. Mr B spent £150 on calls attempting to resolve the issue and claimed he was not given promised callbacks. Santander apologised and offered £500 compensation, but Mr B sought £2,500, citing urgent health needs and the distress caused. The ombudsman did not uphold the complaint, finding no evidence Mr B had updated his address, that Santander had attempted callbacks (with connection failures likely due to external factors), and that funds were transferred promptly once necessary information was received.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found no evidence that Mr B had updated his address with Santander, therefore could not hold the firm responsible for sending correspondence to the old address. Call logs indicated Santander attempted callbacks, with connection failures likely due to factors outside Santander's control such as Mr B's phone signal while abroad. Once Santander received the necessary information, funds were transferred within a reasonable timeframe. The ombudsman reviewed the complaint afresh and found no mistake or unfairness on Santander's part that caused Mr B's distress.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website