Upheld: mis-selling, unfair debt administration, failure to provide reasonable adjustments for vulnerable customer, unfair delay in recalling debt complaint against Telefonica UK Limited trading as O2

Decision detail

Summary

Miss P purchased a mobile phone with a fixed sum loan agreement from O2 in March 2024. In June 2024, she disclosed she is autistic and needs written communications for her carer's assistance. O2 terminated the agreement due to arrears and passed the debt to a collection agent in July 2024, before Miss P returned the phone in late August 2024. Although O2 agreed to waive the debt, it did not recall it from the collection agent until November 2024, causing Miss P panic attacks and distress. The ombudsman found O2 failed to provide reasonable adjustments for Miss P's disability and unfairly delayed debt recall, upholding the complaint and ordering £400 compensation plus removal of all adverse credit file information.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that O2 failed to provide reasonably adjusted support once it became aware of Miss P's autism and audio sensitivity. O2 should have explored alternative contact methods such as email or webchat rather than requiring phone calls with triggering hold music. Additionally, O2 unfairly delayed recalling the debt from the collection agent for three months after receiving the phone back in August 2024, despite agreeing to waive the balance. This delay caused Miss P significant harm given her vulnerable characteristics. The ombudsman considered that while the errors might have small impact on other customers, they had greater impact on Miss P due to her disability.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website