Not upheld: communication failure and settlement offer rejection complaint against Nationwide Building Society

Decision detail

Summary

Mr P complained about Nationwide's communication regarding an outstanding credit card balance and its rejection of his reduced settlement offer. Mr P and his debt charity believed the balance was £1,190.34 and made a payment accordingly, but the actual balance was £1,313.90, leaving a debt outstanding. Mr P claimed he did not receive letters about the balance because Nationwide did not have his updated address, which he had provided to the debt charity in April 2023. The ombudsman found that while Nationwide could have done more to correct the debt charity's incorrect balance figure, the correct information was available to Mr P in March 2025, and it was his responsibility to verify the balance. The ombudsman also found it reasonable for Nationwide to require Mr P to update his address directly and concluded that Nationwide did not act unfairly or unreasonably.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that while Nationwide could have done more to correct the debt charity's incorrect balance figure, the correct balance was available to Mr P through statements and conversations in March 2025. The responsibility was on Mr P to verify the outstanding balance before making a settlement payment. Regarding the address issue, the ombudsman found it was reasonable for Nationwide to require Mr P to update his address directly rather than relying on the debt charity to do so, and Nationwide did communicate this requirement to the debt charity. The ombudsman concluded that the non-receipt of letters was not due to Nationwide acting wrongly, as the onus was on Mr P to ensure his address was current.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website