Not upheld: loan term amendment / incorrect information about loan calculation complaint against Santander

Decision detail

Summary

Mr S complained that Santander refused to amend his personal loan term to March 2027 after he made overpayments in January 2024 based on information he claims Santander provided about how those payments would affect the loan. Santander initially misapplied the payments but later corrected the account, determining the correct maturity date was July 2027, not March 2027, and paid compensation for the errors. The ombudsman found that the substantive issues regarding the original payments and information provided fell outside its jurisdiction due to time limits, and that the narrow remaining issue—the 2025 refusal to amend the term—did not constitute unfair treatment as the loan terms do not guarantee a specific end date and the loan was correctly calculated.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied FCA DISP time limits and found that the substantive issues regarding the January 2024 payments and information provided had been addressed in final responses issued more than six months before Mr S referred the matter to the FOS, placing them outside the ombudsman's jurisdiction. Regarding the narrow issue that could be considered—whether Santander acted unfairly in refusing the 2025 request to amend the term—the ombudsman found the loan terms and conditions do not guarantee a specific end date and that the loan had been correctly recalculated. The ombudsman concluded it would not be fair to require Santander to apply an outcome unsupported by the loan agreement.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website