Addie later saw her credit report, which recorded the debt as “written off”. She said she understood this meant she no longer owed the debt. She also said she did not receive later demand letters because they were sent to an old address. Addie complained that the bank had not communicated effectively about the debt, had continued collection activity despite her belief that the debt had been written off, and had not handled her complaint properly.

Our investigation

The bank communicated clearly with Addie about the debt when it transferred it to the recoveries team. The bank’s emails to Addie said it had closed her accounts, that she owed $16,000, and that she would have to keep making repayments until she had repaid the debt in full. The bank also said that if she did not maintain the arrangement, it would cancel it and start recovery action.

We found no evidence the bank agreed to waive the debt or told Addie she no longer needed to repay it. Addie had believed the term “written off” on her credit report meant the bank had cancelled the debt, but the bank’s earlier communications clearly stated that the debt remained payable. We therefore found the bank had communicated the status of the debt and Addie’s repayment obligations clearly and effectively. The bank's credit reporting was accurate – it was no longer charging any interest or fees on the debt.

The bank sent correspondence to the address it held at the relevant times and updated its records when Addie gave it a new address in March 2025. We found no evidence she had given the bank revised contact details earlier than that date.

However, we found that the bank failed to deal with Addie’s complaint effectively. It failed to respond appropriately when Addie first complained in January 2026. Later responses contained inaccuracies and were delayed. That said, a faster response would not have changed the fact that the debt remained owing. We concluded that the bank's complaint-handling failures caused Addie some stress and inconvenience. We recommended the bank pay $200 in recognition of this fact.

Outcome

We upheld part of Addie’s complaint and recommended the bank pay $200 to Addie, which Addie accepted.