Not upheld: Credit file / adverse marker disputes complaint against Vanquis Bank Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Miss L complained that Vanquis Bank reported a default to her credit file without warning and failed to treat her fairly as a vulnerable customer. Vanquis had sent arrears letters and a default notice to Miss L's correct address, though Miss L claims she did not receive them due to post issues. Miss L's account was four months overdue when defaulted in October 2025, and she only disclosed her vulnerability status to Vanquis in November 2025, after the default had been applied. The ombudsman found that Vanquis acted fairly in defaulting the account in line with ICO guidance and had made reasonable contact attempts, and therefore did not uphold the complaint.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Vanquis acted fairly in defaulting Miss L's account because: (1) the account was four months overdue, within the ICO's expected 3-6 month range for default registration; (2) Vanquis made reasonable attempts to contact Miss L by telephone and sent correctly addressed arrears letters and default notice; (3) while Vanquis should treat vulnerable customers with extra care, they can only be expected to do so if they know of the vulnerability, and Miss L's vulnerability was only disclosed after the default was applied; (4) Miss L's missed calls to Vanquis demonstrated they were making reasonable contact attempts; (5) the dual reporting of the default by Vanquis and L was correct under ICO guidance.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website