Upheld: Account administration errors complaint against Monzo Bank Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr M complained that Monzo Bank Limited charged him interest despite his financial difficulties following redundancy. Mr M initially contacted Monzo on 5 September 2025 via chat to indicate he couldn't make a payment, but the chat agent misunderstood his query. He contacted again on 8 October 2025 and was offered a support plan on 14 October 2025 that froze future interest but did not waive previously charged interest. The ombudsman upheld the complaint, finding that Monzo should have properly addressed Mr M's initial September contact and that interest charges of £43.31 applied on 20-21 October 2025 were unfair given Monzo's prior awareness of his difficulties. Monzo was ordered to refund the interest and pay £50 for distress caused.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Mr M first contacted Monzo about his inability to make a payment on 5 September 2025, not 8 October 2025 as Monzo claimed. Although Mr M did not press the issue in that initial chat, the chat agent should have explored the query directly. Had proper support been provided in September 2025, the interest charges of £43.31 that were applied on 20-21 October 2025 would not have been charged. Additionally, Monzo was aware of Mr M's financial difficulties before 20 October 2025, making it unfair to charge interest after that awareness. The ombudsman also found that Mr M suffered distress from seeing actual interest charges applied after he had already notified Monzo of his difficulties.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website