Not upheld: Credit file reporting of late/missed payment complaint against Zilch Technology Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr S complained that Zilch Technology Limited incorrectly reported a payment that was 12 days late as a missed payment or arrears on his credit file, arguing that such reporting should only occur after 30 days of non-payment. Zilch maintained that the payment was correctly reported as missed since it was not made by the agreed due date of 24 October 2025. The ombudsman found no regulatory requirement for a 30-day minimum period and determined that the credit agreement clearly specified payments were due every 14 days from purchase with no grace period. The ombudsman concluded that Zilch's reporting followed ICO guidance and the account terms, and therefore did not uphold the complaint.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found no regulatory requirement mandating a minimum 30-day period before reporting a missed or late payment. The ICO guidance states that if a regular expected payment is not made by the agreed time and amount, the account may be reported as in arrears. The credit agreement clearly specified payments were due every 14 days from the date of purchase with no grace period to the next payment cycle. Since Mr S did not make the payment by the agreed due date of 24 October 2025, it was correctly classified as missed. Zilch's approach follows industry guidance and the terms of the account, and businesses are free to decide their own policies on when to report missed payments.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website