Insights for consumers
If your circumstances change, it is important to update your credit card issuer as soon as you can. Your card issuer may be able to take your circumstances into account and help you make a plan moving forward, to ensure that your account remains open.
What happened?
In August 2024, the credit card issuer cancelled Bella’s credit card and her account because Bella had not made any payments between May and August 2024. Bella was unhappy that her account had been closed, so she complained to FSCL.
What were the parties’ views?
Bella said that she had not made payments due to a head injury she had suffered and complained that the credit card issuer had not communicated effectively with her about the urgency of paying or the risk of her account being closed. Bella said that they had not fairly considered her circumstances or treated her with compassion, and she wanted the credit card issuer to reopen her account.
Bella explained that, in January 2024, she had suffered a head injury. She had a severe concussion, and was told that she would experience symptoms like headaches, causing difficulty driving or looking at screens, for the next few months. In May, although still experiencing concussion symptoms, she and her partner decided to travel to London. Bella said she did not use her phone much overseas, but she had received some emails with account statements from the credit card issuer. The emails did not seem urgent, and Bella said that if she had known that they were going to close her account, she would have just paid her balance.
The credit card issuer said that because Bella had not made any payments for over 90 days, they were entitled to cancel her account under their terms and conditions. Because Bella’s account had been cancelled for a valid reason (non-payment), they could not reopen it, but Bella could make a new application for them to consider. The credit card issuer said that they had tried to call Bella about her account being at risk of closure, but they could not get through to her.
What was FSCL’s view?
After looking into the complaint and speaking with Bella and the credit card issuer, we explained to Bella that the credit card issuer’s decision to close her account was a decision based on commercial judgment, which, under our rules (called our Terms of Reference), we could not look at. We were still able to look into the service issues, including Bella’s complaint that the credit card issuer had not effectively communicated with her that her account was at risk of closure.
How did FSCL suggest that the complaint should be resolved?
After speaking with the credit card issuer about Bella’s circumstances and her complaint, the credit card issuer offered to make a $500 payment to Bella as a gesture of goodwill to resolve her complaint.
Bella accepted the credit card issuers offer, although somewhat reluctantly because it was not the resolution she had wanted, which was her account to be reopened. We then closed Bella’s file.
