Not upheld: Unilateral variation of terms and conditions / Inadequate communication of material changes complaint against Trading 212 UK Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr G complained that Trading 212 UK Limited failed to adequately communicate a material change to its interest payment model in February 2024, whereby interest on cash held in his Stocks and Shares ISA switched from automatic to opt-in. Mr G did not opt-in and lost interest payments for nearly two years until December 2025, when he re-accepted the terms. He sought retrospective interest payments and argued that one email in December 2023 was insufficient notice for such a significant change affecting existing customers. The Ombudsman applied the FCA's four-step framework for unilateral variations and found that T212 had satisfied all requirements: clear communication of changes, stated reasons, 30 days' notice (exceeding standards), and fee-free opt-in/opt-out options. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The Ombudsman applied the FCA's four-step framework for unilateral variations to terms and conditions. T212 satisfied all four steps: (1) variation terms were transparent and clearly outlined in a side-by-side comparison; (2) reasons for change were clearly explained (improving interest rates and meeting regulatory requirements for investment products); (3) 30 days' notice was given, which exceeds the firm's standard 14-day requirement and aligns with FCA expectations of 'reasonable notice' and industry best practice of 30-90 days; and (4) customers could opt-in or opt-out at any stage with no fees. The Ombudsman acknowledged Mr G's frustration but found that additional communication methods (text messages, pop-up notifications) would risk crossing into financial advice for an execution-only platform, which must balance providing sufficient information without over-promoting changes.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website