Upheld: Account administration errors complaint against ReAssure Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs P complained about ReAssure Limited's administration of her investment policy, which had been transferred from Legal and General in October 2020. After making three partial withdrawals totalling £240,000 between September 2022 and February 2024, ReAssure informed Mrs P that she had been overpaid and repeatedly changed the overpayment amount due to their failure to update records following the first withdrawal. The ombudsman found that ReAssure failed to maintain accurate records, provide correct valuations, and supply requested audit trail information, causing considerable distress to Mrs P over an extended period. While confirming that an overpayment of approximately £33,200.32 was legitimately made, the ombudsman upheld the complaint and ordered ReAssure to pay £750 compensation for the administrative failures and poor customer service.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

ReAssure failed in their responsibility to maintain accurate records and provide correct fund valuations to Mrs P. The evidence demonstrates that an overpayment was made because ReAssure did not properly update the policy value following the September 2022 withdrawal before processing subsequent withdrawals. The ombudsman was satisfied that the overpayment of approximately £33,200.32 was accurately calculated once withdrawals were properly accounted for. While Mrs P is entitled to repay the overpayment, ReAssure's administrative failures, provision of inaccurate information, and failure to provide requested audit trails caused considerable distress and inconvenience over a prolonged period, warranting compensation.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website