DRN-6191589

The complaint Mr N is unhappy with Clydesdale Bank Plc trading as Virgin Money. Mr N found that his ISA had been closed at maturity and the funds placed in a holding account. He said he didn’t get any correspondence, and he was unable to locate his ISA as it was no longer available online. Mr N wants Virgin Money to pay him the interest he lost. What happened Mr N said in the past he had always been able to view his ISA accounts. But for some reason he was unable to see this account and said he was unaware that he needed to reinvest it. When he was made aware of the situation he logged a complaint. Mr N said he wanted to consolidate all his ISA’s into a “single container” and he had assumed that the ISA would have just been automatically reinvested after withdrawal. Virgin Money said the ISA matured in April 2025 and that it was an online self service account managed through the online savings portal. It confirmed emails are sent between 10-14 days prior to maturity requesting instructions from the account holder. After the email was issued between 9-11 April 2025, a reminder email was sent on either 16 or 17 April 2025. In view of the time elapsed since it couldn’t produce the emails but said it checked its bounce back file and this suggested the emails were delivered successfully. Virgin Money confirmed it had no control over “external processes, such as spam filters or firewalls. You may wish to check your junk or spam folders.” Virgin Money said no instructions followed so the money was placed in its Easy Access ISA and that this was in line with the account terms and conditions. It apologised but said it hadn’t made any mistakes. It offered Mr N £15 as a gesture of goodwill and sent this to his account. Mr N didn’t accept this and brought his complaint to this service. Our investigator didn’t uphold the complaint. He said it was clearly a one year product that would come to an end. He accepted reminder emails would have been sent out as internal systems confirmed this, and the emails didn’t bounce back. He felt it was more likely the emails were sent. Our investigator said the £15 was reasonable and felt Virgin Money acted fairly. Mr N didn’t accept this and asked for his complaint to be passed to an ombudsman for a final decision. What I’ve decided – and why I’ve considered all the available evidence and arguments to decide what’s fair and

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reasonable in the circumstances of this complaint. This is an informal service so I’m not going to comment on everything included within this complaint. Instead, I’m going to stick to what I think are the central points that apply here. I can confirm all the evidence provided by both sides has been considered. In his original complaint Mr N said he never received any of the emails from Virgin Money. In response to the investigator’s view Mr N said he wasn’t saying Virgin Money definitely failed to send an email. But he was certain it wasn’t delivered into his inbox. Mr N said if it was filtered into his junk or span folder, he routinely deletes these without review. Mr N said this raises wider concerns about Virgin Money’s communication practices. He said effective notice should be the standard, not merely attempted contact. He also said no further follow up from Virgin Money should be questioned too. Mr N said the £15 didn’t reflect the detriment suffered. Mr N said, “I fully accept that the account in question was a one-year fixed rate ISA and that customers have a responsibility to manage their savings. I am not seeking to avoid that responsibility.” But he felt Virgin’s approach disadvantages customers. Our investigator said it would be reasonable to suggest the email did go to Mr N’s spam or junk and he deleted it. He said that was outside of Virgin Money’s control. Mr N accepted on the balance of probabilities that an email may have been sent. But now said after further correspondence with our investigator that his concern was whether a single piece of unsecured communication was fair and reasonable. Mr N referred to speaking with another bank and said he was told if that bank didn’t get a response by email it then sent a letter. From its notes Virgin Money recorded, “Maturity email was sent between 9-11 April 2025. However, due to the time that has passed we no longer have access to the email delivery reports to confirm if/when the customer opened their email however the customer is not in the bounce back file which suggests the email was delivered successfully. Once our emails are sent, we have no control over external processes (Spam filters, Firewalls, etc). Customer may wish to check junk or spam folder.” Virgin Money confirmed there were no errors noted. But it did apologise and to compensate Mr N it paid £15 as a good will gesture into his account. I think the important place to start is with Virgin Money’s terms and conditions. Within these it states: “After the fixed rate period your account will become a variable rate Cash ISA. However, we will write to you before the end of the fixed rate period to let you know the options available to you, as well as advising you of the interest rate currently payable on the variable rate account.” I think that’s clear and that’s what Virgin Money has done here. So, it did act in line with the requirements laid out within its own terms.

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There’s no dispute between the parties about what type of account was taken out and the duration of that account. There’s no evidence to suggest there was a problem with Virgin Money’s process or email system. And the record doesn’t show that Mr N’s email wasn’t sent or that it bounced back. On balance it seems likely the emails were sent. I understand the point Mr N is making about only sending one email. But the records show it would have been two emails sent by Virgin Money. I can only compare Virgin Money’s actions to its own standards, not what other banks may or may not do. I think the offer of the good will gesture was the right idea in the circumstances. Based on the evidence I think Virgin Money acted fairly and reasonably. My final decision I don’t uphold this complaint. I make no further award against Clydesdale Bank Plc trading as Virgin Money. Under the rules of the Financial Ombudsman Service, I’m required to ask Mr N to accept or reject my decision before 22 May 2026. John Quinlan Ombudsman

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