Not upheld: unfair overdraft interest charges complaint against The Royal Bank of Scotland Public Limited Company (RBS)

Decision detail

Summary

Mr K complained about overdraft interest charges applied to his current account with RBS, claiming his debit card was compromised and he could not safely credit the account while it remained unsecured. He reported an unauthorised transaction in August 2025 relating to a March 2025 payment, which RBS refunded along with associated interest. The ombudsman found insufficient evidence that Mr K had reported specific fraudulent transactions to RBS prior to August 2025 and no evidence that RBS prevented him from crediting the account or failed to secure it. The ombudsman concluded that RBS took appropriate steps once informed of the unauthorised transaction and that overdraft interest was applied fairly in accordance with account terms, therefore not upholding the complaint.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found insufficient evidence that Mr K reported specific fraudulent transactions to RBS prior to August 2025, despite his concerns about account compromise. Once the unauthorised transaction was formally reported in August 2025, RBS took reasonable action by refunding it and associated interest. The ombudsman was not persuaded that the account remained compromised or that RBS failed to secure it appropriately. While Mr K chose not to credit the account due to security concerns, there was no evidence RBS prevented him from doing so, and therefore the overdraft interest charges were applied fairly in accordance with account terms.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website