Not upheld: ISA / savings administration complaint against HSBC UK Bank Plc
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-6331232 of 2026-06-30T00:00:00+00:00. ISA / savings administration complaint against HSBC UK Bank Plc. Outcome: Not upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-6331232 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2026-06-30T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | HSBC UK Bank Plc |
| Product | Savings / ISA |
| Claim type | ISA / savings administration |
| Outcome | Not upheld |
| Remedy | None. Complaint not upheld. |
Summary
Mr B complained that HSBC failed to automatically upgrade his Flexi-saver savings account to a Premier savings account despite being eligible as a Premier customer. He believed he should have received the upgrade automatically and lost out on higher interest rates. HSBC explained that their automated upgrade process only applies when non-Premier customers convert to Premier status, and Mr B had held a Premier account since 2013. The ombudsman found no evidence that an automated upgrade process should have applied and upheld HSBC's position, rejecting the complaint.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
The ombudsman found that HSBC's automated upgrade process only applies when non-Premier customers convert to Premier status. Since Mr B opened his account as a Premier customer in 2013 (not upgraded in 2018 as he believed), the automated process would not have applied to his savings accounts. The ombudsman noted that branch staff may have provided advice based on Mr B's stated account history without full investigation, but this did not constitute an error by HSBC.
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| HSBC UK Bank Plc, all decisions | 7,604 | 23% |
| ISA / savings administration, all decisions | 1,945 | 27% |
| Savings / ISA, all decisions | 7,685 | 22% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website