Not upheld: Service failures generally complaint against RBS Collective Investment Funds Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr G complained to RBS about delays in withdrawing from a matured child trust fund account, citing portal access issues, delays in processing identification documents, and receiving funds by cheque rather than bank transfer. The account matured on 30 March 2025 and funds were received on 20 May 2025. RBS did not uphold the complaint, and the FOS investigator agreed. The ombudsman found that RBS acted fairly and reasonably, following their terms and conditions by actioning the withdrawal on the same day as the request and implementing standard identification verification procedures for child trust funds. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that while the withdrawal process took considerable time (51 days from maturity to receipt of funds), RBS did not cause unnecessary delays or make errors. RBS acted in accordance with their terms and conditions by actioning the withdrawal on the same day as the request, protecting funds from market volatility. The identification verification procedure, while adding time, is standard practice for child trust funds where the account holder's identity documents are not held by the firm. The use of cheque payment was permitted under the terms and conditions. Portal access issues were not persuasively shown to be caused by RBS, and the firm provided appropriate guidance when identification documents were initially rejected.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website