Not upheld: Service failures generally complaint against Lloyds Bank PLC

Decision detail

Summary

Ms K complained that Lloyds Bank restricted her online banking access without sufficient explanation and failed to provide an accessible way to restore it, claiming breach of the Equality Act 2010 and failure to respond to a DSAR. Lloyds explained the restriction was due to suspected account compromise and required security verification by phone or in-branch. The ombudsman found the restriction was a proportionate fraud prevention measure justified by legitimate concerns, that verification requirements were reasonable standard practice, and that Ms K had not previously notified Lloyds of specific reasonable adjustments needed. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

Banks have a legitimate obligation to protect customer accounts from fraud through monitoring and taking action on suspicious activity. The restriction was proportionate and in line with account terms. While Lloyds could not share detailed fraud prevention information for security reasons, the requirement for phone or in-branch verification was reasonable and standard practice. Ms K had not previously notified Lloyds of specific reasonable adjustments needed, and evidence showed she was capable of phone communication. No valid DSAR was received by Lloyds.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website