Not upheld: account blocks and fraud prevention procedures; delay in block removal complaint against Santander UK Plc

Decision detail

Summary

Mr H complained after Santander UK Plc placed blocks on his account following suspicious account movements in November 2025. After Mr H visited a branch and provided satisfactory information about the transactions, Santander failed to remove the blocks promptly, causing inconvenience. Santander acknowledged this error and offered £100 compensation, which Mr H rejected, requesting £1,000 instead. The ombudsman found that Santander correctly followed their fraud prevention processes and that the £100 compensation was fair and reasonable, resulting in the complaint being not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

Santander has important legal and regulatory obligations to protect customers from fraud and scams, which requires monitoring accounts and occasionally reviewing transactions. The ombudsman found Santander correctly followed their established processes in monitoring, attempting contact, and applying blocks. However, Santander made an error by not removing the blocks promptly after being satisfied with Mr H's explanation. The ombudsman reviewed Santander's communication and found no evidence of an accusatory nature. Considering the impact of the error and the circumstances, the £100 compensation was deemed fair and reasonable.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website