Mr C then gave 30 days’ notice to terminate the agreement.
Towry argued its letter of 7 March 2016 – sent before the anniversary date of the agreement – offered a review and it was sorry a new adviser hadn’t been appointed by the time the review was due.
But Towry argued its private client manager was there to oversee the account and if there was any need for advice he would have addressed it.
When the ombudsman asked Towry why it had taken longer than a few weeks to allocate a new adviser a spokesman for the intermediary said it had capacity issues and a number of advisers had left at the same time to set up their own firm.
Towry claimed if the couple had asked for a review an adviser would have been appointed.
A spokesman for Towry Limited, which is now part of Tilney Financial Planning Limited, said the service provided had fallen short of what Mr and Mrs C were entitled to expect.
In a final decision, ombudsman Lesley Stead said: “Towry didn’t do enough. Its private client manager might be a chartered financial planner but Mr and Mrs C had been promised, some months earlier, their own new financial planner.
“I can understand why they felt there’d been enough time to sort things out. And why they may not have wanted to contact the private client manager, unless they needed urgent advice.
“Taking into account Towry’s several failings I thought it was fair that Towry should refund the fees it had taken.”
Towry was told to refund fees for April and May 2016.
Towry was also told to pay £100 compensation to Mr and Mrs C for distress and inconvenience.
emma.hughes@ft.com
