Not upheld: interest charges on credit card complaint against Capital One (Europe) plc

Decision detail

Summary

Mr H complained that Capital One charged him £12.33 interest on 9 July 2025 despite paying his June 2025 statement balance in full on 3 July 2025. He sought a refund of the interest, an explanation, and compensation for distress. Capital One declined the complaint, stating the interest was correctly applied under the credit agreement terms. The ombudsman found that although Mr H paid the full June statement balance, part of that balance was carried forward from May 2025 and had not been cleared by the previous payment due date, meaning interest accrued during the statement cycle. The ombudsman also determined that Mr H had not maintained two consecutive months of full balance payments as required to qualify for the 56-day interest-free period. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman reviewed the account history and found that interest accrued on the outstanding balance during the statement cycle because part of the June 2025 statement balance related to a balance from May 2025 that had not been cleared by the previous payment due date. Although Mr H paid the full June statement balance on 3 July 2025, interest had already accrued during the period when the balance remained outstanding. The ombudsman also found that Mr H had not maintained two consecutive months of full balance payments as required by Capital One's terms to qualify for the 56-day interest-free period, as the May 2025 balance was not fully cleared (evidenced by the £359.88 previous balance shown on the June statement).

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website