In May 2016, Callum transferred $6,300 NZD from his New Zealand bank account to his credit card provider to pay the balance of his UK credit card with the provider. However, the money did not reach the credit card account and Callum had to use another credit card to pay the balance.
Callum then corresponded for over a year with the provider’s New Zealand, UK, and Australian teams about locating the $6,300. Callum also checked with his New Zealand bank and it was able to confirm that the payment had gone to his provider’s New Zealand bank account. Callum’s bank also provided him with letters to support his request for the provider to refund him the $6,300.
It transpired Callum needed to pay his UK credit card’s balance by making an international transfer, rather than paying money to a New Zealand bank account, which had been his error. However, the provider still held the $6,300 somewhere and needed to refund this to Callum.
The matter remained unresolved in August 2017, and Callum contacted FSCL.
Referral to provider’s complaints team
We referred the complaint to the provider’s dedicated complaints team, and asked why the provider had not yet refunded the $6,300 to Callum. After a few weeks, the complaints team was able to locate Callum’s payment and said it would be able to refund it to him within 10 working days.
Outcome
The provider then refunded the $6,300 to Callum’s bank account and the complaint was resolved.
Key insights
It is common for protracted complaints to resolve quickly once the complainant contacts FSCL. This is partly because we know the correct team the complaint should be referred to, which will have the resources and authority to resolve the complaint quickly.
