A grieving family were mistakenly told by National Savings and Investments (NS&I) they would inherit £30,000 in Premium Bonds, only to discover the money did not exist.
The error by the Treasury-backed savings institution left one family member, identified only as Mr B, expecting to use the funds to cover funeral expenses before learning they had been given the details of another customer’s account.
After taking his complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service, Mr B sought around £15,000 in compensation for the distress caused by the mistake.
However, the ombudsman ruled he was entitled to just £300, plus interest.
The case is the latest administrative failing involving NS&I’s handling of bereaved customers following a series of errors that previously led to the departure of its chief executive.
NS&I wrote to Mr B stating that his late relative, Ms B, held £30,000 in Premium Bonds.
The organisation also instructed him to obtain a grant of probate before the money could be released.
However, Ms B did not hold any Premium Bonds because she had withdrawn her investments several years earlier.
NS&I wrongly tells grieving family they will inherit £30,000 in Premium Bonds
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NS&INS&I later admitted it had mistakenly provided Mr B with the account details belonging to another customer.
The error also prompted concerns from Mr B that another person’s financial information had been disclosed to him in a potential data breach.
He raised those concerns with NS&I as part of his complaint while his family was grieving the death of their relative.
Financial ombudsman Katy Kidd acknowledged that Mr B and his family had been “affected emotionally by the events” surrounding the error.
The case comes after wider problems at NS&I came to light earlier this year
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NS&IDespite this, she concluded that compensation should only cover the unnecessary cost of obtaining the grant of probate, which NS&I had instructed him to secure.
She ruled that Mr B should receive £300, plus interest.
The decision was significantly lower than the approximately £15,000 in compensation Mr B had requested.
Mr B’s concerns about the disclosure of another customer’s financial information also formed part of the complaint submitted to NS&I.
In March, former chief executive Dax Harkins left the organisation after it emerged that administrative failures had prevented millions of pounds from being paid into the accounts of 37,500 bereaved families.
Responding to the latest case, an NS&I spokesman said: “We sincerely apologise that on this occasion we have not provided the customer service that people should expect from NS&I, particularly at such a sensitive time.”
The Financial Ombudsman Service ultimately ruled that the only financial loss directly caused by the mistake was the unnecessary cost of obtaining probate, leaving Mr B entitled to £300 in compensation, plus interest.