Co-operative bank refusing to pay £125 refer-a-friend offer FOS case

IanManc

Ed-1 said:

IanManc said:

Alex9384 said:

Even the FOS acknowledges (very first post of this thread) that the whole scheme ended in December 2022. This is what they said:

The FOS says that "The Co-op ended the scheme for the first time in December 2022." That means that the FOS thinks that the scheme was opened, then closed, then opened again. They wouldn't say "for the first time" if they meant the only time. They don't acknowledge "that the whole scheme ended" like you say - they're indicating that it was paused.

They ended the scheme for the first time in December 2022. They ended the scheme for the second time in February 2023.

The 2 offers are Nov 2020 to Dec 2022 and Feb 2023.

The phrase "for the first time" qualified the absolute term "ended". The qualification alters the meaning of ended to, in effect, mean paused, because you can't actually "end" the same thing twice. Not for the first time, the FOS is clumsy in its use of language.

"Ended" means finished once and for all, so adding "for the first time" to qualify it shows they're using the wrong word.

Alex9384

phillw said:

A new offer would be a standard switch bonus, or money for making a certain number of transactions.

It's been a switch offer the whole time, so they might just drop the 'refer a friend' part from their T&C and then claim it's still the same offer. See? Using Coop own logic I can perform mental gymnastics to make up whatever nonsense I wish.

phillw said:

Clearly coop think that even though the offer isn't always available, it's still the same offer.

I can see your argument, but I can also see why it would be dumb for coop to agree with you.

They may think whatever they want, but it should be clearly stated in their T&C.

WillPS

I think the 2023 complainers have more of a chance than the 2022 partially because the bank used the wording 'offer will end on' and 'offer ended on' with regards to the 2022 offer. They can't argue the 2023 one is a continuation if the previous one "ended".

Alex9384

IanManc said:

The FOS says that "The Co-op ended the scheme for the first time in December 2022." That means that the FOS thinks that the scheme was opened, then closed, then opened again. They wouldn't say "for the first time" if they meant the only time. They don't acknowledge "that the whole scheme ended" like you say - they're indicating that it was paused.

I don't have any skin in this game, and I actively dislike the Co-op Bank because it is owned by hedge funds, isn't a co-operative and should be forced to change its name; and it is had the poorest customer service of any bank I've ever used; but your complaint has been refused and the FOS agree with the Co-op Bank, and unless you can come up with something better than repeating your arguments that have already been dismissed then you might as well accept that your attempt to get more money for nothing from the Co-op has failed this time.

Are you talking about me? My complaint has not been refused as I haven't sent anything to the FOS yet.

Which arguments have been dismissed? No one in this thread dismissed that "Refer a friend" is a scheme and there are different offers within it. Has anyone dismissed my example with opening/switching during offer A and then filling and submitting referral form during the offer B? Should the bonus be paid out in that case? I think you all say it should, because it's the same offer.

Alex9384

Btw, when the new offer started on the 1st Feb 23, I asked on this forum what people think, and they said they can't see anything in the T&C that prevents me from getting another bonus. It's only when I messaged Coop that they came up with additional claims which are not in their T&C, such as claim that a new customer is someone who has never had a Coop account.

Edit: getting "money for nothing" is literally what every switch bonus is about. And some even pay you repeatedly, if you wait long enough. So I don't see what point are you trying to make here. If anything, Coop costed me more time and effort than any other switch I've ever done with other banks.

Section62

Perksy5 said:

Taking them to the ombudsman over this will have cost co op £2500. I doubt you'll have much of a future relationship with them after this either. I cant see you overturning either decision from Co Op or the FOS. Quit while you're ahead and just close the complaint, it'll save you a lot of energy.

If there were any truth in the BiB then the OP and others should be aware of this -

https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/files/1874/QG1.pdf

"If a business threatens to penalise a consumer for exercising their statutory right to refer a complaint to us, this may have regulatory consequences for the business."

There is no cost to the complainant of having the case referred to an ombudsman, and the decisions of the ombudsman (unlike the investigator's findings) are published.  So those who feel Co-op have done them wrong could at least have the satisfaction of seeing Co-op's wriggling around over relatively trivial sums published for all to see.

Alex9384

I think it was Bridlington who mentioned that another complainer had their case upheld by the FOS.

So it's obviously not black and white and FOS is not siding with Coop in all cases related to this issue.
It probably depends on how well you write the complaint to the FOS.

TheBanker

I have searched the published FOS decisions against the Co-op going back to November, and cannot find anything related to refer a friend payments, either upheld or declined. 

So either the complaint was resolved at adjudicator stage (so no published decision), it's not gone through the process yet, or it's only recently been decided and not yet been published.

Dustybee

I have had a very quick decision from the investigator at the FOS on my complaint.  I had a referral payment of £125 in November 2022 and applied again in February 2023 after the scheme "ended" in December 2022. The complaint was submitted on 31st March with a very detailed summary and supporting document attachments.  Anyway, disappointingly the decision has gone the way of the Co-operative Bank (C refers to me, the complainant & B is the Co-operative Bank): 




I can't think there is any more evidence to submit to take it for an Ombudsman decision or even if that's worth it.  Interested in your views and opinions.

WillPS

Dustybee said:

I have had a very quick decision from the investigator at the FOS on my complaint.  I had a referral payment of £125 in November 2022 and applied again in February 2023 after the scheme "ended" in December 2022. The complaint was submitted on 31st March with a very detailed summary and supporting document attachments.  Anyway, disappointingly the decision has gone the way of the Co-operative Bank (C refers to me, the complainant & B is the Co-operative Bank): 




I can't think there is any more evidence to submit to take it for an Ombudsman decision or even if that's worth it.  Interested in your views and opinions.

Why is internal evidence even being considered? How are you as a consumer supposed to understand offer periods adequately if the bank had to resort to an *internal* document to back themselves up in an offer they presented to customers?

I would ask that they discount that piece of evidence as it shouldn't be relevant when determining whether or not this was possibly the same offer. I would additionally submit that The Co-operative Bank themselves referred to the November/Dec offer as "ending" and then "ended" after it had closed.