Barclays Bank UK PLC · DRN-6146853

The complaint Miss M complains that Barclays Bank UK PLC unfairly loaded a default on her credit file, and she’d like it removed. What happened Miss M had a personal account with Barclays. In October 2024 Miss M raised a fraud claim with Barclays regarding a payment made to a payment processor I’ll call P. The payment was for just over £1,200. After raising the claim Barclays provided Miss M with a temporary refund. However, after investigating Barclays declined the claim and recovered the funds from Miss M’s account – putting her into an overdraft. On 5 February 2025 Barclays notified Miss M that with effect from 7 March 2025 her account will be terminated, and they demand full and immediate repayment of the outstanding balance of £1,226.85. But Miss M didn’t respond or repay the balance and as of 7 March 2025 Barclays closed Miss M’s account and loaded a default on her credit file. Barclays also loaded a negative fraud marker, but this complaint point has been raised separately so I won’t be considering this here. Miss M wasn’t happy with Barclays decision, but on reviewing her complaint Barclays thought they acted fairly. They thought they were clear in demanding repayment and after no contact was received closing her account and loading a default. One of our Investigators looked into Miss M’s complaint but didn’t uphold it. They thought Barclays notified Miss M about the need for repayment on several occasions prior to loading the default. Miss M didn’t agree so it’s been passed to me to decide. 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. Miss M confirmed with our Investigator that the key matter she’d like considered here is whether the default was added fairly. I’m afraid I think it was, I’ll explain why below. For me to say that Barclays have acted fairly in loading a default against Miss M I’ll need to see evidence that Miss M had a debt to the bank, she was notified about the need for repayment and reporting would occur to credit reference agencies. After reviewing the communications between Barclays and Miss M I’m satisfied they satisfactorily notified Miss M of the outstanding balance. I say this as I’ve seen copies of

-- 1 of 2 --

letters sent by Barclays on 28 and 31 January 2025 and 4, 5, 19 and 28 February 2025. All of the letters inform Miss M that she’s exceeded her available limit and needs to resolve this. Miss M has argued that Barclays didn’t give her the full 30 days it promised when demanding repayment – but from the evidence I’ve seen I’m satisfied it did. I think Barclays were clear in outlining the action they would take if Miss M failed to make repayment by 7 March 2025. I say this as the letters sent on both 5 and 19 February 2025 were termination notices issued in accordance with Sections 76(1) and 98 (1) of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. Both letters state that the ‘the full amount outstanding on your current account is repayable’ and ‘with effect from 07/03/2025 … makes full demand for full and immediate repayment of on the account’. And they add: ‘Additionally, it is the Bank’s intention to register details of the account with credit reference agencies’. I realise this will disappoint Miss M but I’m satisfied Barclays notified her of the outstanding debt, were clear in saying when repayment needed to be made and informed her they’d be reporting to credit reference agencies. As Miss M didn’t make any effort to repay the funds during this time I can’t say they acted unfairly in loading a default on her credit file. For completeness I’ve also considered if Barclays were clear to Miss M in notifying her when her account would be closed. I’m satisfied that the letters I’ve shared above, including 5 February 2025 and 19 February 2025, are clear in stating Miss M’s account will be closed on 7 March 2025. So I can’t say they acted unfairly here. For the reasons I’ve outlined above I won’t be asking Barclays to do anything further. I’d encourage Miss M to contact Barclays to agree a suitable payment plan to clear the debt. My final decision My final decision is I don’t uphold this complaint. Under the rules of the Financial Ombudsman Service, I’m required to ask Miss M to accept or reject my decision before 27 April 2026. Jeff Burch Ombudsman

-- 2 of 2 --