Not upheld: Service failures generally complaint against Wise Payments Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr W complained that Wise Payments Limited made it difficult for him to access his funds after requiring identification checks. Mr W had lost his phone and email access, and when Wise required a phone call to verify his identity and recover his account, Mr W stated this was inaccessible due to his disability. Wise offered alternative solutions including text-to-speech software and assistance during the call, but Mr W declined these options. The ombudsman found that Wise acted fairly and reasonably by both protecting the account for security purposes and attempting to provide accessible alternatives, and therefore did not uphold the complaint.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman acknowledged that under the Equality Act 2010, businesses must take reasonable steps to remove barriers for people with disabilities. While the ombudsman cannot determine whether the Equality Act was breached (only a court can), the Act was considered when assessing whether Wise acted fairly and reasonably. The ombudsman found that Wise appropriately restricted the account to protect Mr W's funds and security, and that Wise made genuine efforts to provide alternative verification methods when Mr W explained his accessibility needs. The ombudsman concluded that Wise balanced its duty of care to protect the account with attempts to accommodate Mr W's disability.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website