Upheld: poor service, misleading information, unfair call termination, failure to accommodate vulnerability complaint against Nationwide Building Society

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs K complained about poor service from Nationwide Building Society when attempting to transfer funds from a savings account to purchase a Bond with another provider. NBS provided conflicting information about whether Bonds could be purchased over the telephone and gave incorrect information about adding a nominated account, causing Mrs K weeks of frustration. NBS also unreasonably terminated a call after Mrs K had explained her hearing impairment and that she might raise her voice as a result. Although NBS offered vulnerable customer support, it did not adequately explore whether Mrs K could benefit from additional assistance. The ombudsman upheld the complaint and ordered £200 compensation for the distress and inconvenience caused.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

NBS provided incorrect or incomplete information on multiple occasions about how to transfer funds and purchase Bonds, causing confusion and frustration. While NBS subsequently corrected the information about Bonds, the earlier misinformation and the system's rejection of the nominated account with an incorrect reason contributed to Mrs K's distress. Although NBS offered vulnerable customer support, it did not adequately explore with Mrs K whether additional assistance could be provided without formal classification as vulnerable. The termination of the second call was unreasonable given that Mrs K had explained her hearing impairment and that she might raise her voice as a result. The compensation of £200 is appropriate given the multiple errors, the weeks required to resolve the issues, and the clear distress caused, while also accounting for the fact that Mrs K declined the support service offered.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website