Ali had misunderstood the bank’s promotion. She thought she had applied for, and received, a personal loan when she had, of course, simply moved her debt from one card to another. She went to the branch to discuss the misunderstanding, but her anxiety and medical issues soon escalated matters to the point where the branch manager became very upset at the way Ali was speaking to her. The manager was unable to adequately explain to Ali that she had a credit card, and not a loan, and at one point took Ali’s credit card from her, believing this was what Ali wanted.

Ali was very distressed at what had happened. She complained to the bank, and a senior manager tried to settle her complaint in a video conference call. Despite coming to an agreement, Ali later took advice that the agreed settlement was not acceptable and complained to us.

Our investigation

The bank had already offered Ali a settlement that put her in the position she thought she was going to be in when she applied for the balance transfer. The bank, despite not appearing to have done anything wrong, agreed to make a small extra payment to Ali to recognise that she felt she had been treated unfairly.

Outcome

Ali accepted the bank's offer.