I have been a longtime customer of Revolut, the digital bank. All in all, it has been a fairly joyful experience, especially compared to traditional banks like Erste Bank or Deutsche Bank.
The other day, this joy was disturbed. In the app there was a banner to upgrade to a Pro account, which I clicked to see what it was about. It opened an application to create a new account. I did not want a freelancer account, as I have no need for this, and closed the window.
I thought that was it, but after that I got at least one email a day to finish my application and another push notification on my phone to do so. After this was going on for about a week I texted their support and asked them to stop sending me reminders as I have no intention of opening another account. They said they'd close it.
The email and push notifications kept coming on a daily basis. I contacted support again and asked, again, for them to stop. This time they told me that it was technically not possible on their end to close applications and, if I wanted it to stop, I should just finish the application, open the account, and then close it again.
This felt like being blackmailed into opening a bank account I did not want: either keep getting the reminders, or open the account just so I could close it again. This was getting very stupid.
In the meantime I also found an official complaint email address that, unlike the Pro account banner, did not exactly throw itself at me, and kept sending them emails like:
Please stop sending me these emails. I do NOT want a pro account. Stop it already.
After a while I actually heard back from them:
Hi Marcello,
My name is redacted, and I am a Complaints Analyst at Revolut.
Thank you for contacting us. We are sorry to learn that your experience with Revolut Bank UAB has resulted in a complaint.
[...]
We can confirm that we have carefully reviewed the situation - our decision will be available in more detail below.
In light of my findings and acknowledging that your action of opening the product introduction, even if unintentional, initiated the onboarding process and the subsequent communications. Hence, I have decided not to uphold your complaint.
The fact that I do not uphold your complaint merely means that I haven't found Revolut to be responsible for the events that have led to your complaint and that we as a company have done our best to handle your request fairly.
[...]
The agent confirmed that, on 21st of May 2026 you initiated a workflow to open a Pro account which triggered the notifications. The agent further confirmed that you are receiving the notifications as reminders because the application is stuck in pending state. The agent also informed you that, these messages cannot be stopped manually, this is how the system works and this is expected behaviour.
[...]
No technical issue, fault, or error was identified on our part. The email flow you experienced is a function of our current design, aimed at ensuring users who are close to adopting a new product are given timely reminders to complete the process. If you do not wish to receive further reminders, the simplest way is to either ignore the emails or, where provided, use the unsubscribe link, although simply ignoring them will typically lead to the natural conclusion of the automated sequence.
[...]
If you are unhappy with how we have dealt with your complaint, you can refer it to the Bank of Lithuania within 1 (one) year of the date you sent us your complaint. In this case the Bank of Lithuania would act as an out of court dispute resolution authority dealing with disputes between consumers and financial service providers.
[...]
Best regards,
redactedComplaints Analyst
This really pissed me off. This is no way to treat a customer. What the fuck happened to Revolut? But Revolut’s response contained one useful sentence. If I was unhappy with how they had handled my complaint, I could refer it to the Bank of Lithuania free of charge. So I did.
I went to the Bank of Lithuania complaint form and thanks to my ID Austria account (wonders of the European Union), I could log in and easily file a complaint against Revolut Bank UAB.
With the help of ChatGPT I formulated a complaint that went like this:
...I strongly disagree with Revolut’s position. Clicking a marketing banner, viewing a product introduction, or dismissing an introduction screen should not reasonably be treated as clear intentional initiation of a new financial product application, especially where I did not complete, submit, or confirm any application.
I also consider it unfair and unreasonable that Revolut says the resulting reminders cannot be manually stopped or cancelled. In my view, Revolut’s conduct amounts to persistent and unwanted pressure to complete an application for a financial product I do not want. The practical effect is that I must either continue receiving unwanted daily emails and push notifications, or complete an application for a new account I do not need. I consider this unacceptable, unfair, and harassing behaviour by a regulated financial institution...
A few days later, the Bank of Lithuania contacted me and said that they didn't receive any evidence from me that showed the original support request I sent to Revolut, but said that they would now get in contact with Revolut and hear the story from their side.
I have not yet heard back from them, but Revolut also stopped sending me those pesky reminders. So I guess this might have worked.
As the consumers we are forced to be, we should use the legal tools we have to make this kind of pressure more annoying for companies than for us. And while legal battles in real courts, with lawyers, are made for the affluent, there are often other legal avenues to put pressure on capital.
Bigger picture, this is not a meaningful win. Yet it still brings me joy. Maybe even more than using Revolut ever has.