Partially upheld: irresponsible lending - unaffordable overdraft facility complaint against Santander UK Plc
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-6389087 of 2026-05-28T00:00:00+00:00. irresponsible lending - unaffordable overdraft facility complaint against Santander UK Plc. Outcome: Partially upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-6389087 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2026-05-28T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | Santander UK Plc |
| Product | overdraft |
| Claim type | irresponsible lending - unaffordable overdraft facility |
| Outcome | Partially upheld |
| Remedy | Santander must re-work Mrs H's overdraft balance to remove all additional interest, fees and charges applied from June 2022 onwards. If a balance remains, Santander should arrange a suitable repayment plan and may backdate negative credit file information to June 2022. If removing charges results in overpayments, these should be returned to Mrs H with 8% simple interest from the date made until settlement, and any adverse credit file information should be removed. |
Summary
Mrs H complained that Santander continued to provide her with an £800 overdraft facility she could not afford. The ombudsman found that Mrs H was persistently reliant on the overdraft, exceeding her limit multiple times monthly, and had no realistic prospect of reducing or clearing it. Although Santander began sending warnings about overdraft use in August 2022, the ombudsman found that by June 2022 Santander ought to have taken proactive intervention steps based on the visible pattern of persistent overdraft reliance. The complaint was upheld in part, and Santander was ordered to remove all interest, fees and charges from June 2022 onwards and arrange appropriate repayment terms or return any overpayments with interest.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
The ombudsman found that by June 2022, it ought to have been reasonably clear to Santander that Mrs H was effectively 'locked in' to her overdraft with no realistic prospect of sustainable repayment. The persistent overdraft reliance was visible to Santander and should have triggered proactive intervention. Santander could not rely on Mrs H's lack of response to justify inaction, particularly where the overdraft had become unsustainable. The ombudsman agreed with the investigator that Santander ought to have acted from the June 2022 review date onwards.
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| Santander UK Plc, all decisions | 14,445 | 22% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website