Consumer is not responsible for bank’s technical issues

Ms. Q returned to Canada from living abroad. To re-establish her credit history, she applied for and received a prepaid credit card, which held a cash balance and was widely accepted. She used this card to pay bills and make online purchases, such as groceries. The mobile app associated with Ms. Q’s prepaid credit card allowed her to easily add funds to her account, monitor her spending and review her monthly account statements online.

When Ms. Q reviewed her most current statement, she noticed that the closing balance for her monthly transactions and the closing balance for her account summary did not match on the same statement. According to Ms. Q’s transaction history, her account had reached a negative balance of nearly $300. She contacted the firm through their online chat option and asked the customer service representative to explain why. The representative could neither see a negative balance on Ms. Q’s account nor identify the account issue and escalated the matter internally.

While Ms. Q waited for a resolution, she continued to use her card regularly, and added $4,000 worth of deposits to her card. However, Ms. Q was unable to see her balance reflected accurately in the online statements generated by the mobile app and her deposits seemed to be missing. Ms. Q was worried because she depended on her card to pay for her essential expenses and thought the funds in her account had been stolen.

Over the course of several months, Ms. Q experienced inaccurate account records, incorrect account balances, multiple charges for the same item and pending refunds that had not been applied to her account, even though she could use her card normally. She reached out to the firm again on several occasions and spoke with other representatives who were unable to explain what was happening in her account records. Frustrated with the time it was taking to resolve the problem, Ms. Q came to OBSI for help.

Complaint upheld

During our investigation, we spoke to the firm about the inconsistencies in Ms. Q’s account and asked for an explanation. The firm reviewed its records and became aware of a technical error that had affected the accuracy of the account statements it generated with its mobile app. While Ms. Q had been able to use her card without interruption and there was no evidence of financial harm, we recognized the inconvenience and distress that she had experienced when the app continuously reported inaccurate transactions and balances, and the firm was unable to clearly explain her online statements and confirm her balance.

We recommended that the firm compensate Ms. Q $250 for non-financial harm. The firm agreed and Ms. Q accepted its offer. The firm also confirmed to OBSI that the problem with its app had been corrected.