Not upheld: persistent debt protocol compliance and administration complaint against Barclays Bank UK PLC (trading as Tesco Bank)

Decision detail

Summary

Mr P complained that Tesco Bank failed to comply with FCA persistent debt protocol by not sending required notices at appropriate times. The ombudsman found that Tesco Bank correctly monitored the account and that Mr P's repayments legitimately altered its persistent debt status. Even assuming Tesco Bank had breached its obligations, the ombudsman was not persuaded Mr P would have taken different action, given his pattern of ignoring numerous letters about missed payments, over-limit warnings, and persistent debt notices, despite demonstrating ability to make catch-up payments. The complaint was not upheld and no remedy was ordered.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Tesco Bank's repayment monitoring was correct because Mr P's payments altered the account's persistent debt status, resetting the monitoring period. Even if Tesco Bank had failed to send letters at appropriate times, the ombudsman was not persuaded Mr P would have acted differently, given his consistent pattern of ignoring extensive communications from Tesco Bank about his account management issues, despite demonstrating ability to make catch-up payments.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website