Not upheld: Investment mis-selling complaint against AJ Bell Management Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr K purchased shares in Ostin Technology Group Co. LTD (OST) through AJ Bell's platform and attempted to sell them 72 times on 26 June 2025 following a pump-and-dump scam collapse, but the orders failed due to unavailable live market quotes. After the stock price fell sharply, Mr K complained to AJ Bell claiming losses of £1,479 and alleging the firm should have executed his orders. The ombudsman found that the failure to execute was due to extreme market volatility and lack of available quotes, not platform malfunction, and that Mr K should have called AJ Bell's Dealing Services Team during business hours to mitigate losses. The complaint was not upheld as AJ Bell was not found to have breached its regulatory obligations.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that AJ Bell was unable to execute the sale order due to lack of available live market quotes caused by extreme volatility from the pump-and-dump scam collapse, not platform malfunction. The ombudsman held that it was not fair to hold AJ Bell responsible for market price movements or inability to obtain quotes during extreme market conditions. The ombudsman found Mr K should have called AJ Bell's Dealing Services Team earlier during business hours to mitigate losses, as the 72 attempted sales demonstrated awareness of the price drop.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website