The digital bank Monzo has been accused of overstepping the mark by using the data it holds to tell one customer with a past eating disorder that she eats a lot of fast food, spends “more than most” on Just Eat takeaways, and had banished her life goals thanks to her spending choices.
Fiona Taylor* has escalated a complaint to the UK financial ombudsman after she was offended by what she called “shaming language” in the end-of-year review sent to her by the bank.In a similar vein to Spotify Wrapped, which shows users of the streaming service their top songs and artists of the past year, Monzo sends customers a personalised annual review of how and where they spent their money.
The aim, says the bank, is to “provide an engaging and sometimes lighthearted summary of a customer’s year” – but it has divided opinion.
On forums such as Reddit, some customers have criticised the Year in Monzo service for “judging” them and making “snarky” and “sarcastic” comments, while others said they were “just a bit of fun”.
Some customers shared screenshots from their reviews that highlighted how much money they spend at the bakery chain Greggs or tease them for having an “unused oven”.
People are offended so easily these days 
As I said on the Monzo forum, I can understand why she might be offended in her position, but doggedly pursuing it with the Ombudsman is taking things a bit too far.
Never thought I’d be defending Monzo, but if you don’t like the general fun tone of a company, you just close your account with them.
Obviously, Monzo isn’t for her…
Turns out… Monzo offered her £20. More than she should have got, but I recognise that’s the cost of business sometimes.
Taylor then complained to the Financial Ombudsman Service, but its investigator effectively sided with Monzo, saying they did not think the bank needed to take any action. She appealed against the decision and her case will now be reviewed by a senior ombudsman, who will make a final decision.
I have never held an account with them, they always struck me as a bit arty farty. The penny didn’t drop for some customers clearly.
I’m going out on a limb here, but I wonder if it occurred to whoever crafted this feedback tool which caused the offence, that they ought to tread a tad carefully when it comes to summarising others’ behaviour in relation to eating habits.
I say that inasmuch as eating disorders are a particular cause for anxiety and, dare I say, predominantly a condition suffered by women.
I’m not suggesting for one minute that the woman in question was in that category. I say it more from the standpoint that the criticism levelled at Monzo could be seen coming a mile off.
Having said all that, the complainant in question might simply be making mischief and creating a three-act having suffered no harm at all. The £20 probably did more harm than good.
I’m no fan of Monzo (which isn’t relevant) but they held their hands up quickly. I think the annoying aspect for them is that, in retrospect, the staffer responsible for managing the feature is almost certainly thinking “Bugger”, and wincing at how easy it was for a forum member (and account holder) to take a swing when, after all, the whole thing is meant to be light-hearted.
That’s a good point and I hadn’t thought of that. Apparently, she suffers from chronic fatigue which affects her ability to cook, so orders from Just Eat a lot. This is a vicious cycle, unfortunately, because chronic fatigue is often diet-related.