Not upheld: call handling, service failure, lack of callback complaint against Vanquis Bank Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr M complained about a call to Vanquis on 13 September 2025 where he claimed to have waited 25-30 minutes before speaking to an agent, was then disconnected while on hold, and was not called back. Vanquis' telephone systems indicated the call ended due to a telecommunications supplier error at Mr M's end, while Mr M maintained Vanquis was responsible. The ombudsman reviewed call records, systems data, and the audio recording of the call. Finding the evidence did not support that Vanquis disconnected the call and that the inconvenience did not warrant compensation, the ombudsman did not uphold the complaint.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that while the call ended prematurely, the evidence did not persuade that Vanquis was responsible for the disconnection. The telephone systems data and the circumstances (Mr M on hold with no reason to disconnect) suggested the issue originated from Mr M's end or his telecommunications provider. Regarding the wait time, the ombudsman noted the call history showed only 14 minutes total duration, not the 25-30 minutes claimed. The ombudsman accepted that Vanquis cannot control inbound call volumes and that callbacks are not guaranteed. Even accepting the inconvenience, the ombudsman found it did not reach a level warranting compensation, particularly as Mr M successfully reached an agent on his second call without significant delay.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website