Upheld: Debt collection practices complaint against ACI-UK LIMITED

Decision detail

Summary

Mr O complained that ACI-UK Limited repeatedly contacted him about a debt that had been cleared in a Debt Relief Order (DRO) in November 2019. Despite being notified of the DRO in February 2020 and updating their records in November 2021, ACI incorrectly reopened the account in January 2024 and made 32 email contacts and 8 text messages to Mr O. Mr O reported severe psychological distress and exacerbation of previous trauma. ACI initially offered £150, then £500, then £750 compensation, but Mr O rejected these offers as insufficient given the totality of harm caused. The ombudsman upheld the complaint and determined that £750 was fair compensation, while noting that some claimed harms (credit report damage, home visit) could not be substantiated or attributed to this account.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman accepted that ACI made a clear error in contacting Mr O about a debt that had been legally cleared by the DRO over four years earlier. While ACI's offer of £750 was considered fair compensation under FOS guidelines for distress and inconvenience, the ombudsman noted that some of Mr O's claimed harms (home visit, credit report damage) could not be attributed to this specific account or were unsubstantiated. The ombudsman took into account the significant volume of contact (32 emails and 8 text messages) and the acknowledged severe psychological impact on Mr O, but determined that £750 appropriately reflected the harm caused by this particular error.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website