Not upheld: service provision, account access, and card reissuance complaint against Clydesdale Bank Plc trading as Virgin Money

Decision detail

Summary

Mr J complained to Virgin Money about not receiving a replacement credit card since 2018, inability to access his account online, and difficulty passing security questions. Virgin's October 2023 final response instructed him to call or visit branches to resolve these issues. Mr J did not refer his complaint to FOS within six months and did not contact Virgin again until March 2025 via email without providing full identifying details. The Ombudsman found that complaints about events before October 2023 were time-barred and could not be considered. For subsequent events, the Ombudsman found Virgin acted reasonably in requiring Mr J to call or visit branches for identity verification and payment changes, and was not obliged to process email requests without proper identification.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The Ombudsman found that Mr J failed to refer his complaint about events before 18 October 2023 within the required six-month timeframe from Virgin's October 2023 final response, and Virgin did not consent to FOS considering these matters. No exceptional circumstances were demonstrated to excuse this delay. For events after 18 October 2023, Virgin was not obliged to accept Mr J's email request to increase payments without proper identification verification, having previously instructed him to call or visit a branch. Virgin's suggestion to call and offer of a two-month interest waiver were reasonable responses. Mr J's failure to provide identifying details in his March 2025 email and his lack of contact between October 2023 and August 2025 meant Virgin was not unreasonable in its handling.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website