Not upheld: Credit file / adverse marker disputes complaint against Mitsubishi HC Capital UK PLC trading as Novuna Personal Finance

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs M complained that Novuna unfairly defaulted her loan account in February 2025 after she fell into arrears starting in November 2024. She claimed she was unaware of the default until contacted by a debt purchaser and stated she would have paid the required arrears of £222 had she received the default notice. Novuna maintained it had sent the default notice to her address on file and had made reasonable attempts to contact her about the arrears through letters, texts, and calls. The ombudsman found that Novuna acted fairly in registering the default in compliance with ICO guidance, as Mrs M had been in arrears for three months, and that the firm made reasonable engagement attempts. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Novuna complied with ICO guidance by registering a default when Mrs M had been in arrears for three months. The firm made reasonable attempts to engage with Mrs M through multiple contact methods and attempted to set up a repayment plan. Although Mrs M claimed she did not receive the default notice, the ombudsman found evidence that Novuna sent it to the correct address on file and could not be held responsible for delivery issues. The ombudsman noted that Mrs M should have reasonably known she needed to engage with Novuna given the multiple contact attempts and her knowledge of being behind on payments. The ombudsman was not persuaded that Mrs M would have paid the arrears had she received the notice, given her inability to maintain payments since November 2024. The default was an accurate reflection of the account conduct and Novuna had an obligation to report accurate information to credit reference agencies.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website