Not upheld: default registration and data processing accuracy complaint against Capital One (Europe) plc

Decision detail

Summary

Mr D complained that Capital One unlawfully registered a default against his credit card account and that the associated data was unlawfully processed. Capital One issued a Default Notice on 5 July 2021 requiring full payment of £116.57 arrears by 2 August 2021. Although Mr D paid £100 by the deadline, reducing arrears to £16.57, he did not repay the full amount. Capital One then terminated the account and registered the default on 6 August 2021, though they stated the account defaulted 'as of 07/08/2021'. The ombudsman found that Capital One was entitled to register the default as Mr D had not made payments for six months and failed to repay the full arrears by the deadline, and that the one-day date discrepancy was inconsequential. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Capital One was entitled to send the Default Notice as Mr D had not made payments for six months. Although Mr D made a genuine attempt to clear arrears by paying £100, the Default Notice clearly required full repayment by 2 August 2021. Since Mr D did not repay the full amount by the deadline, Capital One were entitled to terminate the account and register the default. The one-day discrepancy in the default registration date (6 August versus 7 August 2021) was considered a fairly inconsequential technicality that would not justify removal of the default. The ombudsman noted that Mr D did not contact Capital One to explain he would repay the remaining £16.57 shortly, which might have changed the assessment.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website