Not upheld: inaccurate credit reporting and failure to respond to data subject access request within required timeframe complaint against Oodle Financial Services Limited trading as Oodle Car Finance

Decision detail

Summary

Mr R complained that Oodle Car Finance provided inaccurate information to credit reference agencies and failed to provide proper service in response to his complaint. Mr R made a DSAR on 8 August 2025 requesting investigation into credit file reporting between August 2024 and February 2025, but Oodle failed to respond within the required 28-day timeframe. Oodle offered £50 compensation for this administrative failure but Mr R rejected it and referred the complaint to the FOS. The ombudsman found that while Oodle's delay in responding to the DSAR was a service failure warranting the £50 compensation, the underlying credit file entries were accurate and supported by account statements and payment history, so the complaint regarding inaccurate reporting was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that while Oodle failed to provide the service it should have by not responding to the DSAR within 28 days, this did not justify removal of credit file entries as the underlying data was accurate. The ombudsman examined the payment history and account notes for the period August 2024 to February 2025 and found that the missed payments and arrangement to pay markers reported to credit reference agencies were supported by the evidence. Although Mr R was unable to identify specific entries due to the delayed DSAR response, the ombudsman was able to assess the complaint for the period of concern and found no evidence of incorrect reporting. The £50 compensation offered for the administrative failure in handling the DSAR was deemed fair and proportionate.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website