Santander UK Plc · DRN-6173692

The complaint Mr N is unhappy with Santander UK Plc. Mr N had an Easy Access Saver account which ran for a set 12 month period and after that it was moved into an Everyday Saver account at a much lower interest rate. Mr N said he never agreed to that and he had lost interest every month since. Mr N is also unhappy that as he now lives abroad Santander won’t change the account to one paying higher interest as he’s no longer a UK resident. What happened Mr N opened the Easy Access Saver account in September 2023. This was an account for 12 months only. The interest rates linked to the account confirmed depending on whether it was paid monthly (2.47%) or annually (2.50%). Within the Key Facts details it confirmed after the 12 month period completed the account would be transferred to an Everyday Saver account. Santander also confirmed Mr N would be notified about the changes to the account prior to the end of the 12 month period. Santander did send correspondence to Mr N at the end of August 2024 detailing the change over of the account, the new account details, the new interest rate, and it confirmed this new interest rate was variable. Mr N said he didn’t authorise Santander to move his money out of the old account and into a new one. He said he wanted it put back in the account he had set up in 2023 and he wanted Santander to make up the shortfall in interest he had lost on the account in the meantime. Mr N didn’t feel he had been made aware of the account closure and that he was now being paid a much lower interest rate. When Mr N discussed the issues with Santander it confirmed the original account had been a 12 month product from the start and that it wouldn’t be able to put the money back into the old account. It also confirmed it wouldn’t be paying any interest Mr N was requesting as the account terms and conditions had been followed. At this point Mr N asked to make arrangements to move his money into an account paying higher interest. This was discussed with an adviser but during the discussion the adviser became aware that Mr N was no longer living in the UK and hadn’t been for a number of years. So, the adviser confirmed she couldn’t move the money or open a new account for Mr N while he was no longer a UK resident. As the matter couldn’t be resolved Mr N brought his complaint to this service. Our investigator didn’t uphold the complaint. She said Santander details made it clear when Mr N opened the account that it was for 12 months only. She also referred to the letter sent to Mr N on 31 August 2024 confirming the end date for the product was coming up and what action Santander would take with the money if Mr N didn’t make contact with instructions of what to do with the funds.

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Our investigator confirmed Santander didn’t have to offer any particular set interest rates or products. She mentioned the Consumer Duty about providing fair value and confirmed this didn’t mean Santander had to pay the highest interest rates. She noted the interest rate being paid (1.19%) wasn’t the lowest market rate being paid for the type of account offered. Our investigator mentioned the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Cash Savings Market review showed that there was an issue with accounts paying interest rates lower than 1%. Our investigator confirmed that the interest rate here was above that so it wasn’t an issue with fair value in comparison to other accounts and other market rates. In relation to Mr N not being able to open a new Santander account due to him not being a UK resident our investigator accepted that this was within Santander’s terms and conditions. So, she didn’t think Santander had acted unfairly or unreasonably in the way it handled the accounts or the residency issue. She didn’t think Santander needed to take any further action about the interest rate or give Mr N a new account. Mr N remained unhappy and asked for his complaint to be passed to an ombudsman for a final decision. 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. There’s been a lot of detailed correspondence around the evidence for which I’m grateful. But this is an informal service so I’m not going to comment on everything included within this complaint. Instead, I’m going to stick to what I think are the central points that apply here. I can confirm all the evidence provided by both sides has been reviewed. I think the key consideration here is the terms and conditions that apply to the account. I can see from the Key Facts document details when Mr N took out the product originally it said: “At the end of the term The term of the account is 12 months. At the end of the term, we’ll transfer your account to an Everyday Saver. We’ll contact you with more details, including your new interest rate, before the term ends.” I think that’s clear and was detailed to Mr N when he took out the product. I accept what he said during his calls with Santander that he didn’t read these. But I don’t think that means I can say Santander’s details or actions around the account were wrong. It was also clear about the interest rates it would pay. It said: “If interest is paid annually 2.50% AER/gross (variable) for 12 months from account opening” And it said: “If interest is paid monthly 2.47% AER/gross (variable) for 12 months from account opening”

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The details also confirmed the likely amount of money the interest rate would produce over the year and regarding interest rates it confirmed: “We can change the interest rate (unless it’s fixed), fees or other terms at any time by giving you notice. The reasons when we can do this are set out in the general terms and conditions.” So, I think the important considerations around interest and how long the product would run for were covered fairly and reasonably by Santander at the outset. I understand Mr N doesn’t accept this as he said he hadn’t given Santander authorisation to move his money out of that account. But Santander confirmed on the call when he raised this that it didn’t need his authorisation it was acting within the terms and conditions. I think that’s fair comment. I don’t think Santander did anything unfair or unreasonable when it closed down that original account and moved Mr N’s money. Mr N said he was never notified of the change to the lower interest rate product and if he had been he would have acted sooner. I understand his point but I’ve seen evidence from Santander that it did write to him on 31 August 2024 and the heading on this letter clearly states: “Your savings account is changing” The letter gives details of his existing account and the date it will change to the new account, this is confirmed as 16 September 2024. The letter goes on to say: “Your new interest rate is shown below. The interest rate on an Everyday Saver is variable and could go up or down at any time.” Then in the box below it details the existing interest rate Mr N had been receiving and the new interest rate of 1.19%. The letter then goes on to confirm Mr N can change to a different account within the Santander range and he can check online, call up, or go into branch to make arrangements. Santander said, “Mr N accesses his account online and correspondence is set to webmail.” It continued “important letters and notifications can be viewed in the statements and documents section, by clicking the mailbox icon. This is where the customer would have been notified of the changes to his savings account.” I’ve no reason to dispute what Santander said here, it also said it would have been sent to Mr N’s UK registered address. Santander said any change of interest rate are sent to customers postally too. Mr N said this system wasn’t ideal as it was dependent on him checking for messages. So, I accept Santander was clear that the original account was for one year. And when that account was close to ending it notified Mr N what it was going to do if he didn’t act. Our investigator mentioned the Consumer Duty and the interest rate wasn’t the lowest on offer. And she also referred to the FCA review to confirm the interest rate applied to the new account wouldn’t be considered an issue under the review. Based on these facts I can’t say that Santander has acted unfairly or unreasonably here. I can understand Mr N’s frustration about not being able to change the account to a higher rate when he did become aware there was a problem.

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Within the Key Facts document for the original account, it said: “Eligibility You can have this account if you’re 16 or over and live in the UK.” Within the general banking terms and conditions that apply to all accounts, it said: “Do you qualify for an account with us? For all accounts you must be a UK resident.” I listened to the call when Mr N was looking to move the account to get a higher rate of interest. And it was only when getting into the details that Santander became aware that Mr N wasn’t currently living in the UK and hadn’t been for a few years. At this point it referred to the general terms that it applies across its product range and confirmed it couldn’t change the account to another one and it couldn’t open a new account either until Mr N became a UK resident again. I note that due to the issues Mr N decided in the end to move his money to another bank to get a better interest rate. I can understand that. Across both issues Santander maintained the problems Mr N encountered weren’t due to any mistakes made on its part and I accept that. It maintained all savings accounts are customer controlled so it’s down to the customer to keep up to date with interest rates and all details are on the website so customers can make an informed decision. Mr N said even though he was no longer a UK resident Santander did make changes to his account. But it’s clear from the phone call the first time Santander was aware Mr N was no longer a UK resident was when he told it during that call. It was at this point it told him that it couldn’t move his account for him. So, I can’t say Santander acted unfairly or unreasonably here. I don’t think its terms and conditions are unreasonable and I think it acted within the scope of these. My final decision I don’t uphold this complaint. I make no award against Santander UK Plc. Under the rules of the Financial Ombudsman Service, I’m required to ask Mr N to accept or reject my decision before 15 April 2026. John Quinlan Ombudsman

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