Thursday, 29 March 2018 09:32
AJ Bell ordered by Ombudsman to make payout
Platform and SIPP provider AJ Bell has been ordered to pay £500 to a customer to compensate for loss of interest.
A ruling by the Pensions Ombudsman, dated 21 March, in respect of a case brought by a Mr M, saw the complaint against AJ Bell Investcentre “partly upheld”.
Mr M’s complaint against AJ Bell Investcentre is that it failed to notify changes to the interest rates that applied to his deposit account and unreasonably delayed processing his instruction to close the account.
It was judged he had been financially disadvantaged as a result.
Mr M was a beneficiary of a SIPP operated by AJ Bell Investcentre, formerly SIPPdeal Trustees Limited.
Karen Johnston, deputy pensions ombudsman, said: “Mr M’s complaint against AJ Bell Investcentre is that it failed to notify changes to the interest rates that applied to his deposit account and unreasonably delayed processing his instruction to close the account.
“He has been financially disadvantaged as a result.”
The deputy ombudsman’s report awarded Mr M £500 for “significant distress and inconvenience” he had suffered as a result of the error.
AJ Bell was given 21 days to make the payment.
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