Upheld: loan administration error and credit file reporting delay complaint against Hutchison 3G UK Limited trading as Three
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-6161924 of 2026-04-21T00:00:00+00:00. loan administration error and credit file reporting delay complaint against Hutchison 3G UK Limited trading as Three. Outcome: Upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-6161924 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2026-04-21T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | Hutchison 3G UK Limited trading as Three |
| Product | fixed sum loan |
| Claim type | loan administration error and credit file reporting delay |
| Outcome | Upheld |
| Remedy | Pay Mr W an additional £100 for distress and inconvenience caused. Three to engage with Mr W if he maintains he did not receive one of the two previous payments, potentially requiring Mr W to provide bank statements. |
Summary
Mr W complained that Three had failed to properly administer a fixed sum loan taken out in his name by a family member without authorization. Although Mr W had given his family member access to his online account, he did not authorize the loan or airtime contract. After discovering the unauthorized transactions, Mr W agreed to a repayment plan with Three in March 2025, but Three only set up a plan for the airtime contract, allowing the loan to fall further into arrears. Mr W eventually repaid the loan balance of approximately £650 in August 2025 and understood Three would remove adverse credit information, but Three did not do so until November 2025. The ombudsman upheld the complaint, finding Three's error in failing to set up the promised repayment plan caused additional distress and warranted compensation, and ordered Three to pay an additional £100 beyond the £300 already paid.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
The ombudsman found that while Mr W did not explicitly authorize the loan, he gave apparent authority by allowing his family member to access his account online. The ombudsman accepted that Three made an error by failing to set up a repayment plan for the loan in March 2025 as promised, only setting one up for the airtime contract. This error caused further arrears and distress. However, the ombudsman determined that missed payments before March 2025 were caused by the family member cancelling the Direct Debit, not Three, so those should remain on the credit file. The ombudsman found Three's removal of adverse information from March 2025 onwards was appropriate but delayed. Considering Mr W's financial strain in repaying £650 and emotional distress, the ombudsman determined an additional £100 payment (beyond the £300 already paid) was fair compensation for the trouble caused by Three's error.
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| Hutchison 3G UK Limited trading as Three, all decisions | 6 | 17% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website