Not upheld: Account closure without notice complaint against Hargreaves Lansdown Asset Management Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr R complained that HLAM prevented him from changing his nominated bank account for 21 days after he updated his address online on 20 November 2025, leaving him unable to withdraw funds as his previously registered account had been closed years earlier. HLAM maintained the restriction was a legitimate anti-fraud control disclosed in their terms and conditions. The ombudsman found the restriction to be fair, clearly disclosed, time-limited, and consistent with FCA expectations on fraud prevention, rejecting Mr R's arguments that HLAM should have provided additional warnings, accepted alternative identity verification, or exercised discretion without evidence of urgent financial need. The complaint was not upheld and no remedy was ordered.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that HLAM's 21-day restriction on changing nominated bank accounts after an address change is a legitimate, time-limited, risk-based security control that applies automatically to all customers. The restriction was clearly disclosed in the terms and conditions, and firms are entitled to rely on published terms provided they are clear and serve a legitimate purpose. The ombudsman rejected arguments that HLAM should have provided additional warnings, accepted alternative identity verification, or monitored external nominated accounts. The ombudsman noted that the FCA expects firms to maintain robust fraud controls and not weaken them for individual customer convenience. Since Mr R did not inform HLAM of any urgent financial need, the ombudsman found no compelling reason to override the standard process.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website