Upheld: Service failures generally complaint against Lloyds Bank General Insurance Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs R complained to Lloyds Bank General Insurance Limited about its handling of her home insurance claim for storm damage made in late 2023. The complaint centred on multiple failings including failure to treat her May 2025 complaint as a formal complaint, failure to arrange a promised manager call back, delays in alternative accommodation and clothing payments, erroneous overpayments, failure to respond promptly to emails, and inadequate support for her vulnerable circumstances. Lloyds initially offered £200 and then £250 compensation in separate final response letters. The Ombudsman upheld the complaint and directed Lloyds to pay a total of £700 compensation, finding that while individual issues might be considered minor, their cumulative effect had significant impact on Mrs R given her vulnerability.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The Ombudsman found that Lloyds failed to treat Mrs R's May 2025 complaint as a formal complaint, failed to arrange a promised manager call back, caused delays in alternative accommodation and clothing payments, made erroneous overpayments, and failed to respond promptly to emails. While some individual issues might be considered minor, the cumulative effect had significant impact on Mrs R, particularly given her vulnerability. The Ombudsman accepted that Mrs R's vulnerability meant she was more impacted than another person might have been. However, regarding the site visit communication, the Ombudsman found Lloyds' intentions were not to intimidate and that it responded reasonably by not insisting on the visit and accepting Mrs R's preference for email contact. The £700 compensation was found to fairly and reasonably compensate Mrs R for the unnecessary distress caused.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website