Not upheld: unfair card blocking and service delays complaint against Clydesdale Bank Plc trading as Virgin Money

Decision detail

Summary

Mr B complained that Virgin Money unfairly blocked his credit card while he was abroad despite his prior notification of travel, and then caused delays in removing the block. The card was blocked on 6 October 2025 after a £27.74 card-not-present transaction triggered fraud alerts. Virgin Money attempted to contact Mr B but he did not receive the communications. Mr B was asked to provide ID verification, which he submitted on 9 October, but the block was not removed until 12 October when he successfully reached the fraud team during business hours. Mr B sought £10,000 compensation for distress and financial loss, including hardship caused to his elderly parents. The ombudsman found that Virgin Money acted fairly in applying the fraud block based on legitimate risk indicators and did not cause unreasonable delays, as the matter was resolved immediately when Mr B contacted the fraud team during available hours.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Virgin Money had a legitimate basis to apply the fraud block because the transaction was made abroad, in the early hours of the morning, and was a card-not-present transaction, all of which triggered fraud-monitoring systems. The ombudsman was satisfied that Virgin Money attempted to contact Mr B on 6 October and that Mr B would have been aware of the declined transaction. Regarding delays, the ombudsman found that Virgin Money did not act unreasonably in requiring ID verification given the potential fraudulent activity and Mr B's failure of security questions. The ombudsman noted that when Mr B finally reached the fraud team on 12 October during business hours, the matter was resolved immediately, suggesting the delays were not caused by Virgin Money's errors but rather by Mr B calling outside business hours.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website