Not upheld: Data Subject Access Request (DSAR) handling - informal process and delayed response complaint against 2 Plan Wealth Management Limited
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-6334630 of 2026-05-12T00:00:00+00:00. Data Subject Access Request (DSAR) handling - informal process and delayed response complaint against 2 Plan Wealth Management Limited. Outcome: Not upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-6334630 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2026-05-12T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | 2 Plan Wealth Management Limited |
| Product | Financial advisory services / Wealth management |
| Claim type | Data Subject Access Request (DSAR) handling - informal process and delayed response |
| Outcome | Not upheld |
| Remedy | 2 Plan Wealth Management Limited should pay Mr S £100 for the distress and inconvenience caused by its handling of the DSAR. |
Summary
Mr S complained that 2 Plan Wealth Management Limited failed to handle his Data Subject Access Request (DSAR) properly, raising it on 14 February 2025 and receiving incomplete responses over several weeks. The ombudsman found that 2 Plan should have dealt with the DSAR formally and within the one-month ICO deadline, but determined that the impact on Mr S was limited to frustration and inconvenience. Although Mr S was concerned about missing documents relating to a fee request from Scottish Widows, the ombudsman found no evidence that 2 Plan withheld required information and confirmed no fees were actually charged. The ombudsman upheld the investigator's award of £100 for distress and inconvenience, rejecting Mr S's request for a higher amount as the impact did not exceed the threshold for larger awards.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
The ombudsman agreed that 2 Plan should have handled the DSAR more formally and efficiently, and that some information was provided after the one-month deadline without requesting an extension. However, the ombudsman found that the impact on Mr S was limited to frustration and inconvenience during the initial request and a small delay in receiving the completed DSAR. Although Mr S was concerned about missing documents relating to a fee request from Scottish Widows, the ombudsman noted that 2 Plan had provided all information it retained, HFSL was not 2 Plan's appointed representative, and no fees were actually charged. The ombudsman found no evidence of financial impact or further consequences from the DSAR handling, and therefore concluded that the £100 award was fair and reasonable under FOS guidelines for awards between £100-£300 for repeated small errors or larger single mistakes causing frustration and inconvenience lasting a few days or weeks.
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Plan Wealth Management Limited, all decisions | 26 | 33% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website