Not upheld: poor customer service, administrative errors, failure to implement agreed reasonable adjustments, incorrect removal of overdraft facility complaint against The Co-Operative Bank P.L.C.
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-6353901 of 2026-05-13T00:00:00+00:00. poor customer service, administrative errors, failure to implement agreed reasonable adjustments, incorrect removal of overdraft facility complaint against The Co-Operative Bank P.L.C.. Outcome: Not upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-6353901 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2026-05-13T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | The Co-Operative Bank P.L.C. |
| Product | current account |
| Claim type | poor customer service, administrative errors, failure to implement agreed reasonable adjustments, incorrect removal of overdraft facility |
| Outcome | Not upheld |
| Remedy | Co-Op Bank is directed to pay Mr B £100, which represents the outstanding payment from its August 2025 offer. This brings the total compensation to £600 (£500 paid in July 2025 plus £100 directed to be paid). |
Summary
Mr B complained to the FOS about multiple customer service failures and administrative errors by Co-Op Bank across 2025, including sending unsolicited statements, failing to implement agreed alternate format correspondence, incorrectly removing his overdraft facility, and poor handling of a phone call. Co-Op Bank acknowledged the errors and offered £600 in total compensation (£500 in July 2025 and £100 in August 2025), but Mr B sought £1,700. The ombudsman upheld the investigator's view that £600 was fair and reasonable compensation, finding that while the errors caused considerable distress and inconvenience, they were resolved timely by the bank. The ombudsman directed Co-Op Bank to pay the outstanding £100 from its August 2025 offer but rejected Mr B's claim for additional compensation.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
The ombudsman acknowledged that Co-Op Bank made multiple errors and provided poor service, but found that the firm acknowledged its mistakes, put things right where reasonably possible, and provided compensation in a timely manner. The ombudsman applied FOS guidance indicating that £300-£750 is fair and reasonable for considerable distress and significant inconvenience resolved within a timely manner. The ombudsman found that while Mr B's circumstances were difficult, each error was reasonably resolved by Co-Op Bank, and the £600 total compensation fell within the appropriate range. The ombudsman rejected claims about persistent non-compliance with reasonable adjustments (as this was previously resolved), credit file impact (as soft search would not affect credit score and the search was being removed), and characterization of the phone call representative as unsupportive (finding the representative was largely helpful overall).
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| The Co-Operative Bank P.L.C., all decisions | 86 | 16% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website