Upheld: customer service failures, poor handling of disputed payment claim, failure to apply reasonable adjustments complaint against Bank of Scotland plc

Decision detail

Summary

Mr M complained that Bank of Scotland treated him unfairly when handling his dispute of a £35 payment. During an extended online chat on 12 January 2026, Mr M experienced unreasonable delays, multiple identity verifications, and confusing name discrepancies from representatives. After disclosing his vulnerabilities and health circumstances, Mr M requested BoS contact him via email only, but the bank continued using online chat messaging. BoS upheld the complaint and offered £200 compensation plus a £34 refund, which Mr M rejected. The ombudsman upheld the complaint, finding multiple customer service failings and increasing compensation to £300, considering the cumulative impact on Mr M's wellbeing.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that while not all of Mr M's allegations were substantiated, Bank of Scotland made several customer service failings. These included: unreasonable delays in responding even after Mr M disclosed vulnerabilities, multiple identity verification requests which constituted poor service, name discrepancies on the chat which were confusing though plausibly explained, and failure to provide clarification when Mr M raised security concerns. Most significantly, BoS continued to contact Mr M through online chat after he explicitly requested email-only contact, which added to his distress given his disclosed health circumstances. The ombudsman considered Mr M's wider circumstances and the cumulative impact of these failings when determining fair compensation.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website