Bank of Scotland plc trading as Halifax · DRN-6122028

The complaint Mrs S complains that Bank of Scotland plc trading as Halifax failed to set up a standing order for her. What happened In March 2025, Mrs S visited her local branch to set up a standing order, so a payment of approximately £737 would be paid to her daughter each month to cover her living expenses. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until several months later, Mrs S contacted Halifax again to say a problem had occurred and the payments hadn’t been taken. In response to the complaint, Halifax accepted full responsibility for the error in not setting up the standing order correctly and offered Mrs S £200 compensation to reflect the distress and inconvenience this problem caused her. Mrs S declined this offer, and asked Halifax to credit her account with the money that should have been sent to her daughter. Halifax refused this request as they said they weren’t responsible for monitoring her account, and they hadn’t taken the money, so they couldn’t pay it back to her. An investigator at this service then considered the complaint but didn’t uphold it. He empathised with Mrs S, noted her significant health conditions and encouraged her to reach out to Halifax, if she needed any extra help managing her account going forward. However, he didn’t think Halifax had acted unreasonably by declining to credit her account with the money she had spent elsewhere. Mrs S, then asked for a final decision. She said she relied on Halifax to set up the standing order correctly, and they had never previously failed to follow one of her instructions. She also explained that her relationship with her daughter had unfortunately broken down because of this issue. The investigator’s opinion remained the same, so I have considered the complaint afresh. What I’ve decided – and why I’ve considered all the available evidence and arguments to decide what’s fair and reasonable in the circumstances of this complaint. Having done so, I’m sorry to disappoint Mrs S, but I don’t see any grounds for directing Halifax to do anything more than they have already offered. I’ll now explain why. I was very sorry to hear about Mrs S’s health conditions and the way this problem has unfortunately impacted her relationship with her daughter. Its clear Halifax let Mrs S down by not setting up the standing order correctly, and it has caused her upset and worry. I agree with Mrs S, that she should have been able to rely on Halifax to accurately follow her instructions, so I’m pleased to see they have taken full responsibility for this error and offered her £200 compensation accordingly. However, I can’t agree, Halifax should now credit Mrs S’s account with the money she has

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spent elsewhere. Based on the account statements, I can see the account was being used regularly, and I note that the direct debit was not for an insignificant amount, especially when compared to the regular credits that were paid into the account each month. So, had the account been regularly monitored, as Mrs S had said it was, I would reasonably have expected the problem to have come to light much sooner. Unfortunately, Halifax does not regularly monitor their customers’ accounts for issues of this nature, nor does any bank as far as I’m aware. That responsibility rests with each individual customer and forms part of their general responsibility to manage their day-to-day spending and financial affairs. It’s very unfortunate, neither Mrs S nor her daughter, who I’m sorry to hear also struggles with her health, didn’t notice the problem any sooner. If they did, I’ve no reason to think Halifax wouldn’t have quickly rectified the issue and set up the standing order as they have since done so. That said, I want to be very clear, I’m not blaming Mrs S or her daughter for this problem. There is no dispute, Halifax made an error in relation to the standing order. I just can’t reasonably ask Halifax to credit Mrs S’s account with funds she has already spent elsewhere. As the investigator suggested, it might be beneficial for Mrs S and Halifax to discuss any extra support, or reasonable adjustments that could be put in place, to help Mrs S with her banking needs going forward. If Mrs S would like to pursue this, she should contact Halifax directly. My final decision I partially uphold this complaint and direct Bank of Scotland plc trading as Halifax to pay Mrs S, the £200 compensation they previously offered her – if they haven’t already done so. Under the rules of the Financial Ombudsman Service, I’m required to ask Mrs S to accept or reject my decision before 27 April 2026. Claire Greene Ombudsman

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