Dan came to us with his complaint as he had to travel to another branch of his bank when his local one was closed, and he didn't think the bank had done enough.
What happened
Dan drove to his local bank branch to pay money from his account to a relative. When he arrived, he discovered that the branch had been closed due to a water leak. A notice told him that the branch in the next town, two miles away, was open. Dan told us he didn’t have time to go to the other branch on that day.
Dan went back to his local branch the next day and was able to make the transfer. He also raised a complaint about his wasted trip the previous day. The bank apologised for the inconvenience and explained the branch had been closed for the safety and protection of its customers and staff. It said that Dan could have gone to the branch in the next town, or made the transfer using either telephone or online banking (both of which he was registered for). Dan said it was just his preference to bank in branch, and he thought he should be paid compensation for the wasted journey, and his frustration that the payment to his relative had been delayed.
What we said
We considered what the bank told us about closing the branch for safety reasons. We also accepted the wasted trip for Dan would have been frustrating. We were satisfied the delay in the payment hadn’t had any knock-on consequences. Overall, only minor frustration had been caused, which we didn’t think the bank could have avoided. We didn’t find reason for compensation to be awarded, but we noted the bank did apologise and we thought that was enough in the circumstances.