Upheld: provision of inaccurate information and failure to acknowledge communication complaint against NATIONAL FARMERS UNION MUTUAL INSURANCE SOCIETY LIMITED

Decision detail

Summary

Mr and Mrs P complained that NFU provided inaccurate information about whether costs relating to a court order would be covered under their legal expenses insurance policy and then denied a phone call discussing this had taken place. The call recording was eventually located, confirming the call had occurred and that Mrs P had been given a reassuring but unclear impression about costs coverage. The ombudsman found NFU failed to manage expectations and wrongly denied the call, but rejected Mrs P's claim for £16,000 in costs, as these had already been incurred before the call and she had not acted to her detriment. The ombudsman upheld the complaint and awarded £300 compensation for distress and inconvenience.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that while the call handler gave a reassuring impression about costs being covered, they were talking at cross purposes and the handler was unclear about which costs were being discussed. Although this was a failing in managing expectations, it did not result in financial loss because the costs had already been incurred before the call and Mrs P did not act to her detriment based on the reassurance. The comment in the phone call did not amount to a binding agreement to pay costs. The second failing was NFU's denial that the call had occurred and failure to locate the recording, which caused unnecessary trouble and distress. The ombudsman rejected Mrs P's argument that she was entitled to have the costs covered, as previous indemnity limit issues had been addressed in earlier complaints and were outside the scope of this decision.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website