Not upheld: unreasonable termination of finance agreement and account default complaint against Close Brothers Limited (trading as Close Brothers Motor Finance)

Decision detail

Summary

Miss S complained that Close Brothers unreasonably terminated her motor finance conditional sale agreement and defaulted her account after she informed them of changed circumstances due to maternity leave. She had contacted them in August 2025 proposing £100 monthly payments, but no formal arrangement was agreed. After an unsuccessful payment attempt on 31 August 2025 and failed contact attempts in September 2025, Close Brothers terminated the agreement on 30 September 2025. The ombudsman found that while Close Brothers had some communication shortcomings, the account had fallen into arrears with no maintained payment plan, making termination reasonable and foreseeable under the agreement terms. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that although Miss S experienced genuine financial hardship and made initial efforts to engage, no formal repayment arrangement was agreed following the August 2025 discussion. The unsuccessful payment attempt on 31 August 2025 was not followed up with an alternative payment, and the account fell into arrears with no maintained payment plan. While Close Brothers had some communication shortcomings and inconsistencies in address records, the ombudsman was satisfied they made reasonable attempts to contact Miss S in September 2025 and that termination was foreseeable and in line with the agreement terms.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website