Not upheld: Account administration errors complaint against American Express Europe Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr B complained that Amex unfairly charged £89.14 interest when he made a late payment on his credit card. Mr B had set up a direct debit in early December 2025 to avoid missing payments, but was unaware it would not cover the December payment. He paid the full balance on 22 December 2025, three days after the 19 December due date. Amex had sent a letter on 1 December 2025 clearly stating that manual payment was required until the direct debit commenced. The ombudsman found that Amex did not make an error and that the firm provided sufficient notice of the requirement for manual payment. Although Mr B's account was otherwise well-managed and his intentions were good, he failed to pay by the due date and Amex was entitled to charge interest under the credit agreement terms.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Amex did not make an error. The firm sent a clear letter on 1 December 2025 explicitly stating that the direct debit had been set up but would not cover the upcoming payment and that Mr B needed to pay manually by the due date. Although the letter could have been clearer, it provided sufficient notice. Mr B had a responsibility to check his account by the payment due date of 19 December 2025 to ensure the direct debit had been collected, and if he had done so, he could have made the payment on time. The payment was made three days late on 22 December 2025. While the ombudsman acknowledged Mr B's good intentions and otherwise responsible account management, Amex was entitled to charge interest in accordance with the credit agreement terms, and no error was made.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website