Not upheld: unfair lending requirements and poor customer service complaint against NATIONAL WESTMINSTER BANK PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY

Decision detail

Summary

Mr and Mrs A complained that NatWest unfairly required them to obtain a £900 specialist roof report on spray foam insulation when NatWest would ultimately require its removal regardless. An independent surveyor recommended the report to assess removal costs and roof condition. Although the report found no issues, the surveyor subsequently advised that spray foam insulation would need to be removed as most lenders will not lend on such properties. The ombudsman found NatWest reasonably relied on the surveyor's professional opinion and was not responsible for the report requirement, but upheld a complaint about poor customer service, awarding £150 compensation.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that NatWest reasonably relied on the independent surveyor's professional opinion and recommendations. The surveyor's request for a specialist roof report was consistent with NatWest's instructions to surveyors to consider spray foam in respect of mortgageability and saleability. The surveyor's subsequent determination that spray foam insulation would need to be removed was a professional judgment that NatWest was entitled to rely upon. However, NatWest's customer service was poor, particularly in its final response incorrectly stating it would 'always' require spray foam removal, which caused avoidable upset.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website