Not upheld: Investment mis-selling complaint against Computershare Investor Services Plc

Decision detail

Summary

Ms S complained that Computershare sold her ESOP shares without her permission or consent following the termination of her employment in April 2024. Computershare sent a notification email on 31 May 2024 explaining that Ms S needed to take action within 90 days or her shares would be sold automatically in accordance with the Plan Rules. Ms S took no action, and the shares were sold at the end of August 2024. The ombudsman found that Computershare acted fairly and reasonably as the automatic sale was permitted under the contractual terms Ms S had agreed to, and Computershare had provided adequate notification via email to her correct address. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman determined that Ms S had agreed to the ESOP Plan Rules when she opted into the scheme, which explicitly permitted automatic sale of shares if no action was taken within 90 days of employment termination. Computershare sent a notification email to Ms S's correct email address on 31 May 2024 explaining the required action and deadlines. The ombudsman was satisfied on balance that the email was sent, and that Ms S had access to the terms and conditions throughout her membership and knew her employment had ended. Therefore, Computershare acted fairly and reasonably in accordance with the contractual terms.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website