Insights
Violet’s situation is a good example of a participant and a consumer coming together to discuss a complaint, and giving each other the opportunity to explain their perspective, listen, feel heard, and forward think about a way to resolve the complaint.
Although in this case the credit card issuer agreed to reopen Violet’s account, often the closure of an account is a commercial decision and may not be something that we are able to investigate under our Terms of Reference. If you have experienced something similar to Violet’s situation, you can contact our team for more information.
What happened?
In early July 2024, Violet’s credit card stopped working. The credit card issuer told Violet that, to be able to use the card again, she needed to provide information to confirm her financial situation. Throughout July, Violet tried to get the information to the credit card issuer, but she was having issues with the credit card issuer’s app and did not hear anything back to confirm that they had received the documents that she had emailed. Violet continued to contact the credit card issuer, but in August 2024, her credit card was cancelled.
Violet complained to FSCL.
What were the party’s views?
Violet did not understand why her credit card had stopped working, or why the credit card issuer needed more information when her financial situation was the same, if not better, than it was when she obtained the credit card two years prior. She was frustrated with the credit card issuer’s communication, and said that she just wanted to be able to use her credit card again.
The credit card issuer explained that there had been a technical error on their system, which meant that the information that they needed to assess Violet’s eligibility for the account, like her bank statements and income, were no longer available on their systems. They needed Violet to provide this information so she could be reassessed on whether the credit was affordable and she was eligible to have an account.
How did FSCL suggest that the complaint should be resolved?
After reviewing the file and speaking with Violet and the credit card issuer, we decided that it would be most efficient to have a joint meeting with them to help answer some of Violet’s questions and to work out what information the credit card issuer still needed from Violet. This joint meeting gave the credit card issuer an opportunity to explain what information was needed, why that information was needed, how Violet could provide it, and what was happening with her account. Violet was also able to explain her frustration about being asked for the information multiple times, and how she felt about her account being closed. Both Violet and the credit card issuer confirmed that they found the meeting a helpful way to clear the air.
To resolve the complaint, the credit card issuer agreed to pay Violet $1,000 as an apology for the service and communication issues she had experienced while trying to provide information. This was on top of the credit card issuer’s decision to refund $2,960 in fees when they cancelled Violet’s account in July. The credit card issuer also obtained the information they needed during the course of our investigation to reassess Violet’s eligibility for a card, and they decided to reopen Violet’s account.
We explained to Violet that the credit card issuer’s offer seemed fair, and Violet accepted it. We then closed our file.
