Upheld: Service failures generally complaint against Payment Assist Ltd

Decision detail

Summary

Mr D complained that Payment Assist Ltd failed to consider his circumstances and was unreasonable in its communications after he disclosed a medical condition and financial hardship in October 2017. Payment Assist had initially responded sympathetically to his financial difficulties in October 2016 by agreeing a revised payment plan, but in October 2017 it refused to write off the debt and issued an ultimatum regarding repayment despite Mr D's medical vulnerability and job loss. The ombudsman upheld the complaint, finding that Payment Assist should have maintained its sympathetic approach given Mr D's worsening circumstances. While the ombudsman did not order debt write-off, it required Payment Assist to pay £150 compensation (to be applied to the balance) and agree a reasonable extended repayment plan with Mr D.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that while Payment Assist's initial response to financial hardship in October 2016 was positive and sympathetic, its response in October 2017 was not. Despite being aware of Mr D's medical vulnerability and worsening financial circumstances (job loss), Payment Assist issued an ultimatum rather than a sympathetic offer. The ombudsman noted that Mr D's position had deteriorated between October 2016 and October 2017, yet the firm's response became less accommodating. The ombudsman considered it reasonable to expect Payment Assist to maintain the same sympathetic approach it had previously demonstrated. However, the ombudsman did not uphold the request for debt write-off, finding it reasonable to expect repayment over an extended period despite the medical condition.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website