Not upheld: Fraud reimbursement (APP scams) complaint against Bank of Ireland (UK) Plc

Decision detail

Summary

Ms O complained that Bank of Ireland (UK) Plc was involved in fraud relating to her Bristol & West mortgage, which was repaid in full in November 2003. She alleged that Bristol & West's charge was replaced by a charge with another lender for a much larger amount without her consent, and that the mortgage was subsequently wrongly reclassified as buy-to-let and securitised. She also complained that BOI failed to provide complete information following her 2026 subject access requests. The ombudsman found that Bristol & West properly redeemed the mortgage and discharged its charge, and that BOI is not responsible for any subsequent mortgage with another lender. The ombudsman concluded that BOI was not required to retain documents from over 20 years earlier and had provided all information it reasonably still possessed. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman concluded that BOI was not responsible for the replacement mortgage taken out by another lender in 2003, as Bristol & West and BOI did not transfer the mortgage or send the released funds elsewhere. The ombudsman found that BOI was not required to retain information about a mortgage repaid over 20 years earlier and had provided all information it reasonably still possessed. The ombudsman noted that Ms O should have realised at the time that her Bristol & West mortgage had ended, as she would no longer be required to make payments and the new lender would have contacted her directly.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website