Not upheld: account suspension, service failure (lack of notification), refusal of forbearance and commercial requests complaint against New Wave Capital Limited

Decision detail

Summary

N, a limited company, complained that New Wave Capital Limited unfairly suspended its business credit card account and failed to provide flexibility regarding interest charges and account features. In June 2025, after Mr K requested an interest freeze, repayment date change, and payment plan exploration due to cashflow concerns, New Wave suspended the account without notification as a precautionary measure. The suspension was lifted two days later after Mr K clarified that N could meet contractual repayments. The ombudsman found New Wave acted fairly in suspending the account based on reasonable grounds for concern, and that the £50 compensation already paid appropriately remedied the failure to notify. The ombudsman rejected complaints about declined requests for interest relief, free plan upgrades, and repayment date changes as matters of commercial discretion.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that New Wave had reasonable grounds for concern based on the combination of requests made by Mr K, making the suspension a proportionate and temporary precautionary measure. While the failure to notify was poor service appropriately remedied by £50 compensation, the remaining complaints related to contractual terms or commercial discretion where New Wave acted fairly. The ombudsman noted that credit providers have discretion to suspend accounts, interest was applied per the credit agreement, and firms are not required to offer facilities they do not have.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website