Not upheld: failure to notify of account maturity and interest rate changes complaint against Clydesdale Bank Plc trading as Virgin Money

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs S complained that Virgin Money failed to notify her about the maturity of her Cash ISA account in September 2020, resulting in her funds remaining in a lower-interest variable rate account (0.75% dropping to 0.35%) instead of reinvesting into a fixed rate product. The account eventually transferred to an Easy Online Cash ISA in October 2024 at 1.25%. Mrs S claimed she did not receive notification of the 2024 rate change, but Virgin provided evidence an email was sent on 31 October 2024. The ombudsman applied the balance of probabilities and found Virgin's evidence more compelling, noting Mrs S regularly received Virgin emails and had consistent access to her online account to view her products and rates. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the balance of probabilities test to resolve the conflicting accounts. Virgin provided evidence of correct email address, logs showing no undelivered emails, and a specific record of the 31 October 2024 email. Mrs S's email inbox showed she regularly received Virgin emails. The ombudsman found Mrs S was familiar with the reinvestment process, had regular access to her online account where she could view the account type and interest rate, and therefore Virgin had fulfilled its notification obligation.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website