Not upheld: Account closure without notice complaint against Bank of Scotland plc trading as Halifax

Decision detail

Summary

Mr O complained about Halifax's withdrawal of banking services following account closures and the service he received. After reporting his card stolen, transactions were made and later refunded. When Mr O retracted fraud claims, Halifax debited the refunds causing an overdraft. Halifax closed his first account with notice and his second account without notice. The ombudsman found Halifax acted fairly in closing the accounts under its terms and conditions, that Mr O suffered no financial loss, and that the £150 compensation offered was sufficient despite acknowledging some service failures.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that while Halifax made errors, Mr O did not suffer financial loss because fraudulent transactions were refunded and the overdraft resulted from Mr O's own use of credited funds. Halifax acted fairly in requiring branch attendance with ID as a reasonable anti-fraud measure. The account closures were permitted under Halifax's terms and conditions, with appropriate notice given for the first closure. Although the second account was closed without notice, this was permitted under the terms where customers are abusive or threatening. The compensation of £150 was deemed sufficient to cover the impact of all identified failings.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website