Abrdn has agreed to pay compensation to a woman after an “upsetting and frustrating” situation which saw it take longer than it should have to release funds held on her account after a planned share sale.
The investment company made a payout to the woman, referred to as Mrs H, after acknowledging she had not received the proceeds of her share sale quickly enough and said it did not provide a good enough service.
Abrdn said it would pay her £150 in compensation and offered to pay a further £100 in settlement of her complaint.
However, the woman complained to the Financial Ombudsman Service, stating it made her unwell and that the redress was not enough for the distress caused.
The case was examined by ombudsman Susan Webb who said Mrs H was entitled to a better service and set out to consider whether the £250 total compensation was "fair and reasonable".
In her decision, Webb said: “I've taken into account what Mrs H has said about how everything affected her – even to the extent of making her unwell.
"I’m very sorry indeed to learn this. And I accept that whilst it was mainly Mrs H’s representative who had all the stress of sorting things out on a day to day basis, the unnecessary delay impacted directly on Mrs H and was an ongoing worry for her, until the matter was resolved.
"I understand that the sale proceeds Mrs H was waiting for were paid to her promptly once the issues affecting the power of attorney were sorted out. In these circumstances, I don’t think it would be fair to ask Abrdn to make any additional payment."
Webb said that the payout offered by Abrdn’s was fair for the distress suffered by Mrs H.
She added: “I don’t doubt that Abrdn’s poor handling of matters, which it admits, caused Mrs H significant distress and inconvenience but I think the payment it has made/agreed to make is fair compensation for this.”
The ombudsman concluded that the £250 offered was sufficient to put things right in this case.
Abrdn was contacted for comment
tara.o'connor@ft.com
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