Barclays Bank UK Plc · DRN-6200461

The complaint Miss V complains that Barclays Bank UK Plc (‘Barclays’) reported missed payments to her credit file. Miss V would like her credit file amending. What happened Miss V had a Barclays current account that she only used to pay a monthly insurance fee. Because of difficult personal circumstances, she didn’t pay money into the account from May 2025, which caused it to become overdrawn. She complained Barclays didn’t tell her about the problem, and she only found out when she was turned down for a mortgage. She asked Barclays to remove the missed payment markers after she paid off the overdraft. Barclays didn’t uphold Miss V’s complaint. They said they had contacted her and reported the missed payments correctly. Miss V then brought her complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service, hoping the missed payment markers would be removed. She explained the difficult circumstances she was experiencing at the time and how the markers were affecting her credit file. Our investigator looked at the information from both sides but didn’t think Barclays had acted unfairly, so they didn’t recommend upholding Miss V’s complaint. Miss V disagreed, saying she hadn’t received emails from Barclays and that her overall account history and personal situation should be considered. She asked for an ombudsman’s decision. 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’ve taken into account any relevant law and regulations, the regulator’s rules, guidance and standards, codes of practice and (where appropriate) what is considered to have been good industry practice at the relevant time. Having done so I broadly agree with our investigator’s findings, and I have decided not to uphold Miss V’s complaint. I’ll explain why. The Information Commissioner’s Office (‘ICO’) gives guidance that firms should provide monthly updates to the Credit Reference Agencies (‘CRAs’) in relation to the accounts their customers hold. The ICO says that “data that is reported on your credit file must be fair, accurate, consistent, complete and up to date.”

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Miss V accepts her account became overdrawn between May 2025 and January 2026, so she doesn’t dispute there were arrears. In these circumstances I think Barclays’ credit reporting is accurate. I don’t think Miss V moving house was a significant factor here, as she was sent electronic communications. Barclays’ system notes show Miss V set her communication preference to ‘online only’ which meant emails were being sent to Miss V to notify her when a document was uploaded for her to view. In any event, Barclays were only aware of Miss V’s new address in January 2026. Barclays’ contact log shows they sent a text message to Miss V in May 2025 to say she’d used an unarranged overdraft– and a few days later I can see that Miss V paid into her account. This was the last payment before Miss V cleared her overdraft in January 2026. In July 2025 Barclays sent Miss V an email about her insurance fee increasing, and a text message about being overdrawn. The same month Barclays notified Miss V of letters uploaded to her online account saying she had an overdrawn balance. Further letters were issued to Miss V throughout November 2025 and December 2025, which set out the overdrawn sums, requested a payment, and warned of the impact to Miss V’s credit file. In these circumstances I think Barclays gave Miss V a reasonable opportunity to address the problem before reporting arrears to the CRAs in November 2025 and December 2025. I think Barclays’ reporting is fair in these circumstances, and in line with their reporting obligations. I understand that Miss V was dealing with very difficult personal circumstances, and I’m sorry to hear what she was going through. It’s easy to see how, given her situation and priorities, she might have overlooked her Barclays account. Although I feel sympathy for Miss V, my role is to assess whether Barclays acted fairly. Based on the reasons I’ve explained, I believe they did. So I won’t be asking Barclays to take any further action. Miss V may wish to add a notice of correction to her credit file to explain the context of the arrears reported in November 2025 and December 2025. To do this, she will need to contact each of the three main CRAs. My final decision For the reasons I’ve outlined, I don’t uphold this complaint. Under the rules of the Financial Ombudsman Service, I’m required to ask Miss V to accept or reject my decision before 20 April 2026. Clare Burgess-Cade Ombudsman

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