Not upheld: promotional offer eligibility and timing complaint against Clydesdale Bank Plc (trading as Virgin Money)

Decision detail

Summary

Mr M complained that Virgin Money unfairly denied him a promotional credit card welcome offer of enhanced reward points. He applied for the credit card on 30 August 2025 believing he was eligible for the promotion, but Virgin Money refused to apply the points, stating the promotion only ran from 1 September 2025. Mr M argued the promotion was likely advertised earlier by third parties or affiliate marketers. The Ombudsman found no evidence supporting pre-1 September 2025 advertising and upheld Virgin Money's position that Mr M applied before the promotion began, making him ineligible. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The Ombudsman found that all tangible evidence showed the promotion started on 1 September 2025, and Mr M applied on 30 August 2025, making him ineligible. While Mr M's recollection may be legitimate, there was no evidence to support that the promotion was advertised before the official start date. It would be unreasonable to require Virgin Money to honour a promotional offer for someone who applied before the promotion began.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website