Not upheld: Service failures generally complaint against Vanquis Bank Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Miss B complained that Vanquis Bank Limited treated her unfairly when she encountered financial difficulties after losing employment and experiencing mental health issues. Vanquis had set up a temporary payment arrangement of £7 per month from August to November 2025 and waived certain charges. When the arrangement expired in November 2025, no new arrangement was put in place despite Miss B indicating she would have improved payment capacity from January 2026. Miss B complained about continued interest charges and payment requests in December 2025. The ombudsman found that the initial temporary arrangement was fair and proportionate, and that Vanquis's subsequent actions in following standard arrears processes did not constitute unfair treatment, so the complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied CONC 7.3.4 R, which requires firms to treat customers in or approaching arrears or in default with forbearance and due consideration, proportionate to individual circumstances. The temporary payment arrangement of £7 per month with waived charges was deemed fair and appropriate support. Although no new arrangement was put in place after November 2025, the ombudsman found that Vanquis followed its standard processes for arrears management and did not act unfairly by continuing to charge interest and request payments. The ombudsman noted it is not the service's role to interfere with commercial decisions made by businesses.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website