Not upheld: service quality, accessibility for vulnerable customers, card blocking complaint against Monzo Bank Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr L complained about Monzo blocking his card while abroad on a business trip after a mislabelled transaction was flagged as potential fraud. Although the transaction was legitimate, Mr L could not immediately recognise it and confirmed to Monzo he didn't make it, resulting in the card remaining blocked. Mr L, who is partially sighted, contacted Monzo via webchat seeking information on accessing his funds without a physical card but received poor service with unanswered questions and repeated referrals to previous messages. The ombudsman found Monzo's card block was justified for security reasons and that while customer service could have been better, the £40 compensation offered was fair as Mr L ultimately accessed his funds and suffered no demonstrated financial loss.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Monzo's decision to block the card was justified as a reasonable security measure when the customer could not verify a transaction. While the customer service provided was poor in places—with unanswered questions and repeated referrals—Monzo ultimately provided the necessary information for Mr L to access his funds. The ombudsman noted that Monzo provided a phone number promptly when requested and that Mr L declined additional support from the Wellbeing Team. The ombudsman rejected the argument that Monzo should have analysed transaction data itself, finding it reasonable to require the customer to verify their own transactions. The decision to cancel the business trip was Mr L's own choice and not attributable to Monzo's failings.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website