Not upheld: unfair credit reference agency reporting complaint against Monzo Bank Limited

Decision detail

Summary

T, a limited company, complained that Monzo Bank Limited unfairly reported its inactive business account to credit reference agencies, negatively impacting its credit score. Mr T had moved T's banking to other providers in April 2024 but left the Monzo account open. In June 2025, he requested Monzo stop reporting the account, arguing it misrepresented T's financial health by showing zero turnover despite healthy turnover in other accounts. Monzo declined, stating it had a duty to report open accounts and could only stop by closing the account. The ombudsman upheld Monzo's position, finding the reported information (zero monthly turnover) was accurate and Monzo was contractually entitled to report open accounts regardless of activity level.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that although the account was inactive, it remained open and Monzo had a contractual duty to report it to CRAs. The information reported (zero turnover) was accurate according to the CRA definition, which measures monthly payments rather than annual business turnover. Monzo was entitled to leave the account open pending customer contact and was not obligated to close it proactively. The ombudsman noted that Mr T's responsibility was to monitor his accounts and that Monzo acted appropriately by closing the account when requested.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website