Not upheld: ISA / savings administration complaint against Interactive Brokers (U.K.) Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr L requested a full ISA transfer in cash from Interactive Brokers to Company T on 30 September 2025 using the reference 32***68. IB processed the transfer and sent the funds on 3 October 2025, but the money was credited to Mr L's general investment account instead of his ISA. Company T initially told Mr L that IB had used the wrong reference, but investigation revealed that IB had correctly used the reference 32***68 in both the payment data and Mr L's portal display. IB promptly provided Company T with underlying payment data on 16 October 2025, enabling Company T to locate the funds on 23 October 2025. The ombudsman found that IB acted with due skill, care and diligence and did not uphold the complaint.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman examined the underlying payment data and found that IB entered the correct 16-digit reference (32***68) when processing the transfer. This was confirmed by the screenshot of Mr L's IB portal and the communication between IB and Company T. Although Company T's system showed a different reference, the ombudsman found no evidence that IB caused this discrepancy. IB acted with due skill, care and diligence by promptly providing Company T with the necessary payment data when requested, enabling Company T to locate the funds within 16 days of the initial payment.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website