Not upheld: Service failures generally complaint against Bank of Scotland plc

Decision detail

Summary

Ms K complained that Bank of Scotland unreasonably restricted her online banking access and failed to provide reasonable adjustments as required by the Equality Act 2010. BoS had restricted the account after its systems identified potentially fraudulent activity and required Ms K to complete security checks by phone or in branch to restore access. The ombudsman found that BoS had legitimate grounds for the restriction and that the verification requirements were proportionate and reasonable, noting that Ms K had not previously disclosed her disability or specific adjustment needs to the bank. The ombudsman concluded that proper consideration of reasonable adjustments would require Ms K to engage with the bank to explain her circumstances and why the available options were not workable for her.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that BoS had legitimate grounds for restricting the account based on fraud detection alerts and that this was a proportionate protective measure. While acknowledging Ms K's concerns about reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010, the ombudsman concluded that without Ms K having previously disclosed her specific circumstances and how standard verification processes would disadvantage her, it was reasonable for BoS to require verification by phone or in branch. The ombudsman noted that banks cannot share detailed fraud detection information as this would undermine effectiveness, and that proper consideration of reasonable adjustments would require engagement between Ms K and the bank to understand her specific needs.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website