Not upheld: data breach and handling of arrears/legal proceedings complaint against Santander UK Plc

Decision detail

Summary

Mr and Mrs H complained that Santander wrongly sent a letter warning of legal action to their rental property instead of their home address, breaching data protection and preventing them from avoiding legal fees. Santander admitted sending the letter to the wrong address but claimed it also sent the same letter to the correct address on 1 October 2025. The ombudsman found contemporaneous evidence supporting Santander's account and also found that Mr H was warned of upcoming legal action and fees in direct conversations with Santander on 10 September and 20 November 2025. The ombudsman upheld £500 compensation for the data breach but declined to order removal of legal fees, as Mr H had been adequately warned and chose not to clear arrears until December 2025.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that while Santander wrongly sent a letter to the rental property (a data breach), it had also sent the same letter to the correct home address on the same date. The ombudsman accepted Santander's contemporaneous records showing both letters were issued on 1 October 2025. Additionally, the ombudsman found evidence that Mr H was warned of upcoming legal action and fees in conversations with Santander on 10 September and 20 November 2025, before the legal fees were incurred in December. Therefore, Mr H was not deprived of the opportunity to avoid legal costs. The ombudsman considered £500 compensation fair for the data breach and distress caused, but declined to order removal of legal fees as Santander had adequately warned of these.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website