Not upheld: Credit file / adverse marker disputes complaint against Salary Finance Loans Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Miss A complained that Salary Finance unfairly defaulted her £7,000 loan agreement in March 2025 after she fell into arrears beginning in November 2024. She claimed she never received the notice of default issued in February 2025 and argued the firm should have sent it by email given her complex address. She also complained that Salary Finance continued to accrue arrears despite agreeing to a 30 day hold in November 2024. The ombudsman found that Salary Finance complied with ICO guidance permitting default after three months of arrears and was reasonable in sending the notice of default to the correspondence address Miss A had provided, as it had no knowledge of delivery issues. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Salary Finance complied with ICO guidance which permits default registration when a consumer is at least three months behind with payments and expects default to be registered by six months in arrears. Miss A was in sustained arrears from November 2024 with no payment made to remedy the breach. The firm was required to send the notice of default in writing to the correspondence address provided, and there was no evidence Salary Finance was aware the address was complex or that letters would not reach it. The reporting of missed payments and default to CRAs was an accurate reflection of Miss A's account management.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website