Not upheld: unfair refusal to remove adverse credit file information complaint against Next Retail Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Miss S complained that Next Retail Limited unfairly refused to remove an arrears marker from her credit file, arguing that she was only one day late in bringing her NextPay account up to date. However, the ombudsman found that the account was genuinely in arrears on 1 September 2025 when Next reported to credit reference agencies, having missed a minimum payment due on 3 August 2025. The arrears had been outstanding for almost four weeks by the time of reporting, not merely one day. The ombudsman concluded that Next's reporting was accurate and fair, as credit file information must give future lenders an accurate picture of account management, particularly for consumers experiencing financial difficulty. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Next's reporting of arrears on 1 September 2025 was accurate because the account was genuinely in arrears at that time, having missed the minimum payment due on 3 August 2025. Although Miss S paid one day late on 4 September 2025, the arrears marker was not based solely on this one-day delay but on the underlying arrears that had been outstanding for almost four weeks. The ombudsman considered that accurate credit file information is essential for responsible lending decisions and that removing accurate arrears information would give an incomplete picture to future lenders.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website