Not upheld: Loan administration and enforcement; account closure; failure to facilitate loan repayment complaint against The Royal Bank of Scotland Public Limited Company (RBS)

Decision detail

Summary

S, a limited company, complained that RBS unfairly prevented it from continuing to repay its £45,000 Bounce Back Loan after closing its business current account in January 2024, and that RBS acted unfairly by demanding full repayment and referring the debt to a collection agency. Mr F, S's director, claimed he contacted RBS multiple times seeking assistance to move loan repayments to another account but received no clear help. RBS maintained they provided written instructions on continued repayment, that S remained contractually responsible, and that their records showed only limited contact from S. The ombudsman found that RBS acted fairly, noting that repayments were due to commence in November 2023 before the account closure, that RBS provided clear written guidance, and that RBS's records were more credible than Mr F's claims of repeated contact attempts. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that S remained contractually responsible for making agreed repayments regardless of account closure. RBS provided clear written instructions on how to continue repayments after closure and the loan account itself was not restricted. The ombudsman noted that repayments were due to commence in November 2023, before the account closure in January 2024, meaning S had the opportunity to make payments while the account was still open but failed to do so. The ombudsman found RBS's records more persuasive than Mr F's claims of multiple contact attempts, as no supporting evidence was provided. Given the arrears remained unpaid for an extended period, RBS was entitled to issue a formal demand and refer the debt to recovery proceedings as per the loan agreement terms.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website