Not upheld: validity of formal demand and account closure complaint against National Westminster Bank Public Limited Company (NatWest)

Decision detail

Summary

D, a limited company, complained that NatWest acted unfairly by issuing a Formal Demand and closing its business current account because the demand was not sent to D's registered address at Companies House (which had been updated in May 2025) but instead to the business correspondence address held on NatWest's systems since October 2021. NatWest had issued the demand after D fell into arrears on a Bounce Back Loan following the end of a payment holiday in November 2024, and had made multiple prior attempts to contact D about the arrears. The ombudsman found that NatWest acted fairly in relying on the address held on file, as it was D's responsibility to keep contact details up to date, and that the demand was the final stage in a series of engagement attempts. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that NatWest acted reasonably in relying on the business correspondence address held on their systems since October 2021, as it was D's responsibility to keep contact details up to date and D had not notified NatWest of the address change. The Formal Demand was not the first indication of a serious problem but rather the final stage in a series of attempts to engage with D about the arrears. The ombudsman also noted that even if the demand had been sent to the registered address at Companies House, the outcome would likely have been the same given the significant arrears and D's inability to repay the loan in full.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website