In March 2023, Julian used his credit card to make a purchase online. Julian’s payment to settle the balance on his credit card was due by early April 2023. Julian did not make the payment by the due date because he had not received an account statement from the card issuer.
In the last week of April, the card issuer called Julian twenty times without leaving a voicemail. Julian called the card issuer’s customer support on 1 May 2023. Julian told the card issuer that he was unhappy because he had not received an account statement. Julian asked the card issuer to send him an account statement.
Julian complained to FSCL on 2 May 2023.
Dispute
Julian said that the card issuer’s calls without leaving a message caused him severe stress and frustration. Julian wanted the card issuer to apologise to him in writing. Julian also wanted the card issuer to compensate him for the distress he experienced because of their calls.
The card issuer said that they sent an account statement to the address they had on file for Julian. The card issuer asked Julian to update his address details on his account. The card issuer said that it was Julian’s responsibility to keep his contact details up to date.
The card issuer apologised to Julian in writing in their response to his complaint. The card issuer also sent Julian another two apology letters. The card issuer had offered to waive the overdue payment fees on Julian’s account in full and final settlement of his complaint, but Julian declined.
Review
We thought that the card issuer’s offer to waive Julian’s overdue payment fees and two apology letters were a reasonable settlement offer.
As a matter of good customer service, the card issuer should not have called Julian twenty times without leaving a message.
We found that Julian’s actions had contributed to the stress he experienced. Julian could have avoided this situation by keeping his contact details up to date. Julian should have expected the card issuer to contact him about his overdue payment.
We did not think it was appropriate to award compensation in the circumstances. We recommended that Julian discontinue his complaint.
Resolution
Julian accepted our decision and discontinued his complaint.
Insights for consumers
Consumers should expect to be contacted if their payment to a financial service provider is overdue. It is important to keep your contact details with your financial service provider up to date.
