DRN-6243904

The complaint Mrs S complains Clydesdale Bank Plc trading as Virgin Money (Virgin) didn’t notify her about the maturity of her Cash ISA account. Due to this, her funds remained in an account with a lower interest rate than alternative products available at the time. What happened Mrs S opened a fixed rate ISA account in 2017, and every year until 2020 on the maturity dates, she reinvested into new 1-year fixed rate ISA accounts. I have detailed these accounts below: - October 2017 - opened a fixed rate E-ISA Issue 265 account, paying interest at 1.3%. - This matured in September 2018 – Mrs S reinvested into a 1-year Fixed Rate E-ISA Issue 344 – paying 1.5%. - This matured in September 2019 – Mrs S reinvested into a 1-year Fixed rate E-ISA issue 397 – paying 1.4%. - This matured in September 2020 – the account became an Easy Access Cash E-ISA Reward with a variable rate initially at 0.75%. In April 2021 – the rate dropped to 0.35%. - This remained until October 2024 when the account was no longer offered, so Virgin emailed Mrs S to advise of the product change. - The account transferred into an Easy Online Cash ISA, paying 1.25%. In November 2025, this rate dropped to 1.10% The most recent product, the Easy Online Cash ISA, is an instant access account which means it doesn’t have a maturity date. Ahead of the rate change in November 2025, Mrs S received a letter advising her of new products and rates currently available. This prompted Mrs S to login and check her accounts and following this, Mrs S opened a new ISA paying a higher interest rate. She raised a complaint to Virgin as she was unhappy she hadn’t received notification of her ISA rate change in 2024. Virgin responded to advise an email had been sent and didn’t agree it had acted unfairly. Mrs S was unhappy with this response, brought her complaint to this service and an investigator looked into things. The investigator didn’t uphold the complaint, stating Virgin had provided evidence an email was sent to notify Mrs S, and this was correct in line with the account being opened and

-- 1 of 3 --

managed online. Mrs S was unhappy with this outcome and provided evidence no email had been sent and asked for an ombudsman to decide things. What I’ve decided – and why I’ve considered all the available evidence and arguments to decide what’s fair and reasonable in the circumstances of this complaint. I know this will come as a disappointment to Mrs S, but I’m not upholding the complaint. Mrs S says she didn’t receive the email, whilst Virgin confirm it sent it. In this situation, I have to make my decision based on any evidence available alongside what is most likely to have happened. Mrs S has supplied evidence of her email inbox demonstrating she has received various emails from Virgin in the past and has continued to receive emails from it since raising her complaint to this service. Virgin have supplied evidence of emails sent to Mrs S in the last 6 months that show whether or not these have been opened, and this is to the correct email address. I am unable to see that level of detail prior to the last 6 months due to Virgin’s retention policy. However, Virgin have supplied further evidence of emails sent before the last 6 months, including an email sent on 31 October 2024. It has also confirmed it has a log of emails that were undelivered and Mrs S wasn’t in this file. Based on this, I am satisfied Virgin always had the correct email address for Mrs S and these messages are being sent to her inbox. Mrs S has confirmed the email address hasn’t changed, and this is her preferred communication preference. Based on this and the balance of probabilities, I think Virgin did send the email making Mrs S aware of the change in her Cash ISA interest rate. I have reviewed Mrs S’s previous savings history and she has reinvested into new accounts regularly when these matured. I think she is familiar with the process and had access to view her products and rates through her online account. Virgin have demonstrated Mrs S has logged into her online account regularly throughout the time her accounts have been opened including in 2020 when the instant access ISA was opened, and then throughout 2021, 2022, 2023 and into 2024. I think Mrs S would have seen the account wasn’t a fixed rate account and the interest it was paying. I can see Mrs S didn’t log in between July 2024 and November 2025, but I think she had access to the account to view this when she needed to. I think Virgin sent Mrs S the email, acknowledged her complaint and ensured it has the correct contact information for her. Due to this, I’m not asking Virgin to do anything further.

-- 2 of 3 --

My final decision My final decision is that I don’t uphold this complaint. Under the rules of the Financial Ombudsman Service, I’m required to ask Mrs S to accept or reject my decision before 19 May 2026. Hannah Edmondson Ombudsman

-- 3 of 3 --