Mr T v British Regional Airlines Group Trustees - 8 March 2021

Full determination - Mr T v British Regional Airlines Group Trustees

Summary of determination

Mr T complained that as a result of reliance on an inaccurate retirement leaving service statement issued in 2008 and an overstated Guaranteed Cash Equivalent Transfer Quote he had sustained legal loss. Mr T submitted that BRAL Trustee should honour the inaccurate leaving service statement. The Trustee had already apologised and offered to pay the sum of £1500 for distress and inconvenience for the mistake in the statement as a result of its consideration of the matter during the internal dispute resolution procedure.

The Ombudsman noted that generally an inaccurate overstatement of entitlement does not give a right to the overstated benefit, only for the member to be put in the position the member would have been in if the statement had not been made. The Ombudsman considered various arguments by Mr T that legally he was entitled to the inaccurately stated benefit on the basis of estoppel and that he had sustained legal loss as a result of negligent inaccurate statements of his entitlement. In relation to Mr T’s complaint that he had sustained loss as a result of the inaccurate statements of his entitlement the Pensions Ombudsman concluded broadly that while that had been a breach of a duty of care in making the statement and that while it may be reasonably foreseeable he may rely on it, on the facts, no legal loss flowed from the inaccurate statement. Also the legal requirements for establishing that the Trustee were estopped from paying out the lower correct benefit were not made out.

The Pensions Ombudsman concluded that the offer of £1500 for distress and inconvenience was sufficient to address the undoubted distress and inconvenience suffered as a result of the inaccurate 2008 deferred benefit quote and the inaccurate 2017 Guaranteed Transfer value. Accordingly no further award was appropriate in the circumstances.