Not upheld: Account closure without notice complaint against Sainsbury's Bank Plc

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs L complained that Sainsbury's Bank opened a credit card in her name without her knowledge or consent in October 2021, which she discovered in November 2025. Sainsbury's had applied reasonable account opening procedures, and the application details matched Mrs L's actual address at the time, providing no basis to suspect fraud. Upon notification in November 2025, Sainsbury's investigated promptly, accepted the account was fraudulently opened, and confirmed Mrs L would not be held liable for the debt. The ombudsman found Sainsbury's acted reasonably throughout and did not uphold the complaint, noting that subsequent actions by the third-party business to whom the debt was sold were outside Sainsbury's control.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman reasoned that while a credit card opened without consent is unfortunate, it does not automatically mean the bank acted wrongly. Third parties can sometimes obtain sufficient personal information to navigate reasonable account opening processes. Sainsbury's application procedures were reasonable and the matching address provided no red flags. The ombudsman found it unfair to expect Sainsbury's to have foreseen or prevented the fraud in these circumstances. Once Sainsbury's became aware of the fraud, it acted promptly and appropriately. Actions taken by the third-party debt owner after the account sale are outside Sainsbury's control and responsibility.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website