Partially upheld: mishandling of account application and poor advice regarding credit search complaint against Santander UK Plc

Decision detail

Summary

Mr D and Miss S applied for a joint current account at Santander but the application was rejected because Miss S's name was misspelled, causing a mismatch with her ID. Santander incorrectly advised them they could amend the application in branch, leading to an unnecessary visit. The application was eventually automatically closed after exceeding internal deadlines. While the hard credit search was correctly conducted and recorded with no adverse data, the ombudsman found Santander's poor communication and misleading advice caused distress and inconvenience. The complaint was partially upheld and £100 compensation was awarded.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that while the application was correctly rejected due to the name mismatch (which could indicate fraud), Santander provided misleading advice by telling Mr D and Miss S they could amend the application in branch when this was not possible. This incorrect advice led to an unnecessary and fruitless branch visit. The hard credit search was correctly conducted and accurately recorded with no error in credit reporting. The primary failing was the poor communication and advice regarding how to resolve the issue, not the credit search itself or the application rejection.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website