Upheld: unfair account handling and failure to respect communication preferences complaint against Clydesdale Bank Plc trading as Virgin Money

Decision detail

Summary

Miss M complained that Virgin Money failed to handle her credit card account fairly and ignored her request for written communication only due to mental health concerns. After raising a complaint on 12 December 2025 about financial difficulties, Virgin attempted to call her on 22 and 23 December 2025 despite her explicit preference. The ombudsman upheld the complaint, finding Virgin should have processed the communication preference by the time of the calls, though rejecting Miss M's requests to write off the debt or alter credit reporting. Virgin was ordered to pay £100 compensation for the distress and inconvenience caused by the unwanted calls.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman agreed that Virgin was not obliged to write off the debt or report differently to the Credit Reference Agencies, as they have a legal obligation to report accurately. However, Virgin acted unfairly by attempting to call Miss M on 22 and 23 December 2025 despite her explicit request for written communication only made on 12 December 2025. The ombudsman found that Virgin should have processed this communication preference within the 10-day period before the calls were made. The emails Miss M sent immediately after the calls provided strong evidence that the calls were distressing. The ombudsman applied FOS compensation guidelines which indicate £100-£300 is appropriate for repeated smaller issues or a single more serious error, and considered £100 appropriate given the calls occurred over two days.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website