Advice please Ombudsman saying no to packaged account claim

Mlom

The ombudsman relooked at my case because I disputed their original decision this was my email (sorry I did rattle on as I was so annoyed)

"I am responding to the letter received regarding your decision to my complaint

After some consideration and advice I would appreciate if you can confirm if you will re-access my complaint

In your response it states that I should of been aware of the reason to complain about the mis-selling of the account In 2010- at this particular point I was planning on closing the account and was given incorrect information by a Natwest member of staff about a benefit of the account which I was led to believe to be true so at this point I wouldn't of been aware I was given incorrect info and would of never known I was paying for something I wasn't getting to know I could cancel and complain back in 2010.

Your letter also states-its not necessary to know everything you can complain about to know that you have a complaint.

This particular sentence confuses me and the only way I can understand it is

If I went to Currys for example and bought a washing machine on the information provided that I was getting 10 years warranty on labour and parts and I was never given all the facts that

A) Register info or where to find it to get the warranty
that infact the warranty only covers labour for the first 5 years and only parts on the last 5 years

If I wasn't given all the facts and that the Currys staff member gave misguided info to what was covered, how would I know I had a right to complain until it was brought to my attention?

So the only way for me to understand the sentence that it is okay for Natwest to sell something without giving all the facts or ensuring that a particular product is right for the customers needs because really the customer should know that its been mis-sold without having all necessary info.

If I had known in 2010 that I had been mis-sold I would of cancelled then and made my complaint to the Bank and Ombudsman, instead of the past years being mis-guided and losing money in the process, it seems to me that the Bank have gained and I have ben stolen from surely this can't be the correct way a Bank looks after their customers needs"

A new Adjudicator has reopened and reviewed my complaint here is the reply

Letter

Fom what I've seen I think the packaged account offered you some features that could of been of use to you and I don't think Natwest mis-sold it to you.

Why I don't think Natwest mis-sold
You said you were led to believe that having this account would improve your credit score and more of an overdraft. From what we know there wasn't a requirement to take out this account to access or maintain another financial product like an overdraft or improve your credit score. As such there is not enough info for me to safely say you were told this and for you to have the account for those reasons
I understand you feel Natwest recommended that you take out, but I don't think they did. I say this because if a business recommends an account , this means they've suggested a consumer takes out an account based on personal circumstances at the time, and they need to have checked the account was right for that consumer. In this case I haven't seen anything to suggest they did this.

Instead Natwest need to give you enough info about he account for you to decide if it was right for you. From what we know about how the accounts were sold, they may've highlighted key benefits that cam with it and how its beneficial to the consumer but this doesn't mean the account was recommended.
You've said that some of the benefits were unsuitable for you and you had some of your own insurances. However as I can't see anything to suggest the account was recommended yo you personally, it was for you to decide how to proceed with duplicate insurance you may have made.
The account also offered non insurance benefits such as lower rate loans and Natwest have said you benefited from preferatial rates on your overdraft. End

I am so fustrated with this whole process its like they've ignored my info provided. I was given a personl review and was recommended this account. It also alot of I think and they may haves there sema to me like they are guessing Natwest did or didn't.

Any advice would ge much appreciated

Thanks

dunstonh

You said you were led to believe that having this account would improve your credit score and more of an overdraft. From what we know there wasn't a requirement to take out this account to access or maintain another financial product like an overdraft or improve your credit score. As such there is not enough info for me to safely say you were told this and for you to have the account for those reasons

That is an easy rejection point as it is a very weak complaint reason. It is an unprovable allegation. You may have been told that or you could be making it up. The problem is a lack of evidence. So, you would be expected to be rejected on that point.

From what we know about how the accounts were sold, they may've highlighted key benefits that cam with it and how its beneficial to the consumer but this doesn't mean the account was recommended.

That is also true. Things can be sold on a non-advised basis. However, in most cases, it is difficult to know as evidence is not usually available either way.

You've said that some of the benefits were unsuitable for you and you had some of your own insurances. However as I can't see anything to suggest the account was recommended yo you personally, it was for you to decide how to proceed with duplicate insurance you may have made.

That is also correct. If it is non-advised, they do not have to check those things.

The account also offered non insurance benefits such as lower rate loans and Natwest have said you benefited from preferatial rates on your overdraft

important point as this indicates you did get financial benefit from having the account.

I am so fustrated with this whole process its like they've ignored my info provided. I was given a personl review and was recommended this account. It also alot of I think and they may haves there sema to me like they are guessing Natwest did or didn't.

What info did you provide? Your side of the story is not evidence. So, rather than say what info, we should perhaps say what evidence did you provide?

The FOS cannot guess. It has to make a decision based on the available evidence. Where little or no evidence exists or anything to suggest a wrongdoing to support your allegations, they cannot rule in your favour.

[Deleted User]

I'm sorry, but nothing you said in your response E-Mail even convinces me that FOS was correct to re-open your complaint.

Regardless, you have now truly exhausted the avenues open to you and you should consider the matter concluded.