Barclays Bank UK PLC · DRN-6117028

The complaint Mr W complains that Barclays Bank UK PLC defaulted his account and registered a default on his credit file. What happened Mr W holds a Tesco credit card with Barclays. In 2024/25 Mr W’s circumstances changed. He suffered a bereavement and had to reduce his working hours to care for his children. As a result, the account fell into arrears. Mr W contacted Tesco and set up a reduced payment plan of £1.00 per month. Mr W subsequently discovered that his account had been defaulted. He says he wasn’t told that the payment plan was time limited. He didn’t realise the plan had ended and didn’t receive letters or emails warning him about the risk of his account defaulting. Mr W explained that he moved house during this time and thinks that Tesco should’ve done more to contact him by phone or email. Mr W raised a complaint with Tesco. He said the default was preventing him from renting or buying a home and he wanted it removed. Tesco didn’t uphold the complaint. In its final response it said it had told Mr W that the reduced payment plan was only for 6 months and that he needed to get back in touch at the end of the plan if he was still struggling. Tesco said it had sent arrears letters and a Notice of Default to Mr W at the address it held for him and that the default had been applied correctly. Mr W remained unhappy and brough his complaint to this service. Our investigator didn’t uphold the complaint. They said they were satisfied that Tesco had fully explained the payment plan to Mr W including the duration and what he needed to do if he was still struggling at the end of the plan. The investigator also said that Tesco had sent arrears letters and statutory notices to Mr W at his registered address and that the account had been correctly defaulted. Mr W didn’t agree so I’ve been asked to review the complaint. What I’ve decided – and why I’ve considered all the available evidence and arguments to decide what’s fair and reasonable in the circumstances of this complaint. I know it will disappoint Mr W, but I agree with the investigator’s opinion. I’ll explain why. I’ve listened to the call dated 15 November 2025 in which the reduced payment plan was agreed. During the call, Mr W told the advisor that he was working part time and relied on the card for essential expenditure. The advisor asked Mr W whether – if a reduced payment arrangement was put in place for 3 to 6 months – he would be able to resume the minimum

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monthly payment after that time. Mr W said he hoped to resume full time work and be in a better position in 6 months’ time. The advisor explained to Mr W that the payment plan would be £1.00 per month for 6 months starting on 1 December 2024. The advisor also explained to Mr W that if his circumstances hadn’t improved by the time the plan ended, he would need to contact Tesco again. The advisor also warned Mr W of the risks of not engaging and/or making the contractual minimum payment on time after the plan had ended. During the call Mr W confirmed his understanding of the agreement and set up a direct debit. I’ve reviewed the account history. I can see that Mr W made payments as required during the reduced payment plan. Arrears continued to accrue on the account because Mr W was paying less than the minimum monthly payment. I can’t see that Mr W contacted Tesco at the end of the 6 months. After the plan ended, Mr W was required to resume his usual payments. However, he didn’t do this. Tesco sent several arrears letters between November 2024 and March 2025, and ultimately a Default Notice on 5 May 2025 giving Mr W until 1 June 2025 to bring the account up to date. Mr W didn’t make the required payment, and the account was terminated on 5 June 2025. Based on what I’ve seen, I’m satisfied that Mr W was aware that the reduced payment plan was in place for 6 months only. After that, it was up to Mr W to contact Tesco again (if his circumstances hadn’t improved) or to start paying his usual payments again. I’m also satisfied that Tesco took reasonable steps to make Mr W aware of the arrears and of the risk that the account could default. Mr W has said that he didn’t receive any of the arrears letters or the Default Notice. I’ve reviewed these and I can see that they are correctly addressed to Mr W at his registered address. Mr W has since said that he’s moved house and that he’d told Tesco his new address. I’ve checked the system notes but I can’t see that Mr W told Tesco about his new address until August 2025. So I can’t say that Tesco made an error when it sent the arrears letters to Mr W’s old address, as this was the address that it held for Mr W. Ultimately, it’s Mr W’s obligation to keep Tesco updated with any changes to his personal and/or contact details. Mr W has said that Tesco should’ve contacted him by email or phone. However, there’s no requirement for Tesco to contact Mr W in this way before defaulting an account. Based on what I’ve seen, I’m satisfied that the account was correctly defaulted. I appreciate that the registration of the default has impacted Mr W’s credit file. This service is only able to ask a business to amend a credit file if there’s clear evidence of an error. In this case, I haven’t seen any evidence of an error. Tesco is obliged to accurately report the account to the credit reference agencies, and in this case, the default has been accurately reported. My final decision My final decision is that I don’t uphold the complaint. Under the rules of the Financial Ombudsman Service, I’m required to ask Mr W to accept or reject my decision before 14 April 2026. Emma Davy Ombudsman

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