Partially upheld: avoidable delays in annuity setup; misrecording of customer instructions complaint against Aviva Life & Pensions UK Limited
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-6348782 of 2026-05-11T00:00:00+00:00. avoidable delays in annuity setup; misrecording of customer instructions complaint against Aviva Life & Pensions UK Limited. Outcome: Partially upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-6348782 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2026-05-11T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | Aviva Life & Pensions UK Limited |
| Product | pension/annuity |
| Claim type | avoidable delays in annuity setup; misrecording of customer instructions |
| Outcome | Partially upheld |
| Remedy | Aviva to: (1) Backdate the annuity start date to December 2025 (two months from February 2026 setup); (2) Pay interest on tax-free cash at 8% p.a. simple to 27 February 2026 (balance of interest owed after £721.28 already paid); (3) Ensure first annuity income payment is made in June 2026 rather than August 2026; (4) Pay £150 total compensation for inconvenience caused (or pay the difference if partial payment already made). |
Summary
Mr P complained that Aviva caused avoidable delays in setting up his annuity. In December 2024, Mr P instructed Aviva that he would not complete a Personal Information Form but wanted annuity quotes. Aviva misrecorded this as Mr P not wanting to proceed with an annuity and closed his file. Annuity quotes were not issued until February 2025, a two-month delay. Mr P received the correct retirement pack in March 2025 with all necessary information to proceed but did not return application forms until February 2026. The Ombudsman upheld the complaint in part, finding Aviva responsible only for the two-month delay from December 2024 to February 2025. The subsequent 11-month delay was attributed to Mr P's own decisions not to progress the application, despite having all necessary documents. Aviva was required to backdate the annuity to December 2025, pay interest on tax-free cash at 8% p.a., and pay £150 compensation for inconvenience.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
The Ombudsman found that Aviva caused a two-month delay by misrecording Mr P's December 2024 instruction, resulting in annuity quotes not being issued until February 2025. However, once Mr P received the correct retirement pack in March 2025, he had all necessary information to proceed but chose not to return the application forms until February 2026. The subsequent 11-month delay was primarily attributable to Mr P's own decisions rather than Aviva's failures. Mr P did not act reasonably to mitigate losses by following up sooner after his December 2024 contact, and he failed to meet Aviva's 30-day deadline to submit forms after their July 2025 acknowledgment of the error. The Ombudsman rejected Mr P's request to backdate the annuity to December 2024 or compensate for missed payments throughout 2025, as this would place him in a better position than if the error had not occurred. The £150 compensation for inconvenience was deemed fair as it reflected only the impact of Aviva's initial error, not the delays caused by Mr P's own inaction.
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| Aviva Life & Pensions UK Limited, all decisions | 2,454 | 23% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website