Not upheld: fraud marker loading / application fraud complaint against Billing Finance Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr A complained that Billing Finance unfairly loaded a fraud marker against him in respect of a 2023 car finance application made via a regulated broker. Billing Finance had discovered that the bank statement submitted as proof of income had been altered, with the salary and balances changed while personal details remained correct. Mr A denied submitting the altered statement and suggested it could have been caused by system errors. The ombudsman found that Billing Finance had reasonable grounds to load the fraud marker based on clear evidence of alteration, and that Mr A had not provided a viable explanation for how the altered statement could have been provided given his involvement in the application process. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Billing Finance had reasonable grounds to believe fraud had been committed based on clear evidence that the bank statement had been altered. The ombudsman noted that the personal details on the statement were correct, the employer matched the application, but the salary had been altered. Given that Mr A acknowledged sending documents to the broker and the application contained his correct personal details, the ombudsman found it unlikely the regulated broker Z would have altered the statement itself. The ombudsman concluded that Mr A had not provided a viable explanation for how the altered statement could have been provided, and therefore Billing Finance acted fairly in loading the fraud marker in accordance with the National Fraud Database Handbook.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website