Upheld: Debt collection practices complaint against BPO Collections Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Miss M complained that BPO Collections Limited contacted her about someone else's debt. BPO had completed a tracing exercise that identified Miss M as a potential borrower but the results showed a date of birth discrepancy. Despite this discrepancy, BPO contacted Miss M, causing her to believe she might be a victim of fraud and requiring her to contact BPO, the original creditor, Police, Action Fraud, and credit reference agencies to resolve the matter. The ombudsman upheld the complaint, finding that BPO should have conducted further investigations or consulted its client before making contact. The ombudsman increased the compensation award from £200 to £400 to fairly reflect the distress and inconvenience caused to Miss M.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

BPO failed to properly verify Miss M's identity before contacting her about the debt. The date of birth discrepancy in the tracing results should have prompted BPO to conduct further investigations or seek clarification from its client rather than proceeding with contact. The incorrect trace caused Miss M significant distress and inconvenience, requiring her to contact multiple organisations including the Police and Action Fraud to resolve the matter. The original compensation of £200 did not fairly reflect the level of distress and inconvenience caused.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website