Upheld: unwanted contact / failure to respect opt-out request complaint against Inclusive Finance Limited trading as Creditspring

Decision detail

Summary

Mr L, a previous Creditspring customer, informed the firm on 12 September 2025 that he did not wish to renew his membership. Despite this clear statement, Creditspring contacted him again on 14 November 2025 and 15 December 2025, with Mr L reiterating his lack of interest on each occasion and explicitly requesting no further contact on the final call. The ombudsman upheld Mr L's complaint, finding that Creditspring should have recognized his repeated refusals as an opt-out request and should not have made the subsequent calls. Although Creditspring apologized and removed Mr L from its database in its final response, the ombudsman determined that compensation of £100 was warranted for the distress and inconvenience caused by the unwanted calls, particularly as Mr L was on shift work.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that after Mr L clearly and repeatedly indicated on three separate occasions that he did not wish to renew his membership, Creditspring should have understood that he was opting out of further communication. The fact that Mr L was contacted twice more after his initial refusal on 12 September 2025 demonstrated that Creditspring failed to respect his wishes. While Creditspring's apology and removal from the database in the final response was a positive step, it did not adequately compensate for the distress and inconvenience caused by the unwanted calls, particularly given Mr L was on shift work.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website