Not upheld: Credit file / adverse marker disputes complaint against Mortgages Plc

Decision detail

Summary

Mr F complained to the Financial Ombudsman Service after Mortgages plc registered a late payment marker on his credit file when he failed to make his December 2023 mortgage payment by the deadline. Mr F claimed he was unable to call Mortgages plc due to phone line issues and believed he had received a text offering payment extensions during the holiday period. The ombudsman reviewed phone records and found that Mr F had called at 17:40 on Saturday 30 December 2023, after the office had closed at 13:00, and that the 12-second call duration matched the out-of-hours message, disproving any phone line malfunction. No evidence supported Mr F's claim of a text offering extensions. The ombudsman concluded that as a commercial borrower, Mr F was responsible for ensuring timely payment and had been informed of office hours, so Mortgages plc was entitled to register the marker. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Mr F was responsible for ensuring timely payment of his buy-to-let mortgage, which is a commercial loan. Mr F had been made aware of office closing times and called at 17:40 on a Saturday when the office had closed at 13:00. The phone records confirmed the call lasted exactly 12 seconds, matching the out-of-hours message duration, disproving Mr F's claim of phone line issues. There was no evidence of any text offering payment extensions. Therefore, Mortgages plc was entitled to register the late payment marker, and its subsequent removal as a gesture of goodwill was not required.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website