Not upheld: Credit file / adverse marker disputes complaint against Barclays Bank UK PLC trading as Tesco Bank

Decision detail

Summary

Mr R complained that Tesco Bank unfairly reported his credit card account as defaulted and failed to give fair consideration to his vulnerable circumstances when he experienced financial difficulties in June 2025. Tesco Bank offered a two-month payment arrangement and a 30-day account hold to allow Mr R to complete an income and expenditure assessment, but Mr R did not engage further after the hold ended. The account was reported as defaulted on 31 October 2025 when it was more than three months in arrears. Mr R later successfully cleared the balance in full in 2026. The ombudsman found that Tesco Bank was entitled to report the default as the requisite arrears had accumulated and that the bank had fairly attempted to engage with Mr R before the default was reported, therefore not upholding the complaint.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that at the time of default reporting, Mr R's account was more than three months in arrears as required payments had not been met for several months, meeting the ICO threshold for recording a default. While acknowledging Mr R's intention to repay and his later successful clearance of the debt, the ombudsman concluded that Tesco Bank acted fairly by offering a two-month payment arrangement, placing the account on hold for 30 days to allow Mr R to complete an income and expenditure assessment, and attempting to contact him when the hold ended. The ombudsman noted that Tesco Bank's actions were reasonable support options and that Mr R's failure to re-engage with the bank after the hold period meant they were entitled to return to their collections process. The default date of 31 October 2025 was found to be accurate and reasonable as it followed the deadline set in the termination notice.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website