Upheld: unfair default registration and inadequate communication regarding payment failure complaint against American Express Services Europe Limited
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-6194151 of 2026-04-10T00:00:00+00:00. unfair default registration and inadequate communication regarding payment failure complaint against American Express Services Europe Limited. Outcome: Upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-6194151 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2026-04-10T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | American Express Services Europe Limited |
| Product | credit card |
| Claim type | unfair default registration and inadequate communication regarding payment failure |
| Outcome | Upheld |
| Remedy | Remove the default from Mr J's credit file and backdate the reporting of the account to 20 November 2024. Allow Mr J to continue making repayments under the repayment plan. |
Summary
Mr J complained that AESEL unfairly closed his credit card account and that a default was incorrectly registered after the collections agency failed to contact him when his payments ceased due to a change in bank details. Mr J had maintained a repayment plan from February 2023 to September 2024 without missing any payments. When his bank details changed, the collections agency did not contact him for over two months, then set up a new arrangement on 20 November 2024 but defaulted the account six days later. The ombudsman upheld the complaint, finding that the collections agency should have contacted Mr J when he first missed his payment in September 2024 to give him the opportunity to rectify the issue before defaulting the account.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
The ombudsman found that Mr J was not treated fairly because the collections agency failed to contact him when he first missed his payment in September 2024, despite being aware of the payment issue. Although Mr J should have been aware of the problem, there was no evidence of contact attempts in September or October 2024 to alert him. The collections agency only contacted Mr J on 20 November 2024 and set up a new arrangement, but then defaulted the account on 26 November 2024 without giving him a reasonable opportunity to rectify the situation. It would have been reasonable for the collections agency to contact Mr J about the payment issue before referring for default.
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| American Express Services Europe Limited, all decisions | 1,312 | 22% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website