DRN-6035216

The complaint Ms L has complained Bank of Scotland plc, trading as Halifax, is holding her liable for a debt on a credit card account she never took out. She has also disputed transactions made on this card, including a balance transfer payment to another credit card. What happened A credit card account with Halifax was opened on 13 November 2023 in Ms L’s name. In May 2025 Ms L contacted Halifax as she’d learnt there was a credit card in her name and she was being asked to repay a debt. She disputed transactions to a specific retailer (who I’ll call Q). She confirmed she has various medical conditions which make it very difficult for her to manage her finances. She also noted that her external letterbox had been broken in 2023 and this had been reported to her landlord. Halifax reviewed Ms L’s fraud claim and refunded part of her claim, specifically the transactions to Q and another online retailer. They continued to ask Ms L to repay the debt as they felt the other payments had been authorised by her. Ms L brought her complaint to the ombudsman service. Our investigator considered whether Ms L had most likely opened this credit card account. She felt that she had after considering the timing of the opening of the account and the fact that it was a balance transfer account. Further verification of this transaction had happened using Ms L’s mobile phone. Ms L had separately confirmed her phone remained in her possession. She could also see that Ms L had called Halifax in April 2025 to report her credit card as missing. This firmly suggested Ms L knew about the Halifax credit card in her name. Unhappy with this, Ms L has asked an ombudsman to consider her complaint. She has provided additional comments about her insecure mailbox and that she had no visibility of a Halifax account. 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. Having done so, I’ve reached the same conclusion as our investigator. I’ll explain why. Where there is a dispute about what happened, I have based my decision on the balance of probabilities. In other words, on what I consider is most likely to have happened in the light of the evidence. When considering what is fair and reasonable, I’m required to take into account: relevant law and regulations; regulators’ rules, guidance and standards; codes of practice; and, where

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appropriate, what I consider to have been good industry practice at the relevant time. Existing consumer credit legislation requires a credit provider to show that a credit account was properly opened. In this complaint, Halifax has shown what evidence they hold in support of the credit application in Ms L’s name. These details match those of Ms L. Whilst I note Ms L doesn’t believe this demonstrates she “knowingly, with capacity, and with informed consent” applied for the Halifax account, I don’t agree. Specifically, the account opened with Halifax in 2023 uses the phone number Ms L has also provided to our service. Halifax has shown that after Ms L applied to make the disputed balance transfer of £2,500, they sent her a text message to confirm this was her. Within two minutes they received this from Ms L’s mobile phone number. Separately I can see this £2,500 credited another credit card account in Ms L’s name. I appreciate Ms L has also brought a complaint about that account, but I believe the evidence I’ve seen shows this was authorised by Ms L. And when considering whether Ms L knew about and opened this account, I am satisfied she did. I can see she made a phone call to Halifax in April 2025 after having mislaid her credit card. She’s unlikely to have done that if she’d not been aware of the credit card account. Ms L has also disputed a payment of £660 to a firm of solicitors. Ms L has confirmed this was payment for a bill she genuinely owed. However, she believes as she made the online payment, the card details were automatically completed by her web browser. I don’t see how this can be the case as this was the first time this this card was used after the balance transfer in November 2023. I am satisfied this transaction was authorised. I note Halifax has already refunded some transactions that Ms L disputed. Therefore, I haven’t considered these as Halifax didn’t provide any evidence about these transactions and accepted what Ms L has said about these. I note that in a separate complaint Ms L has disputed other transactions to Q. I’ve also considered the medical evidence she’s provided. This is not in dispute, and I appreciate the impact her condition this must have on her. However, I am satisfied Ms L applied for this credit card account and authorised the two remaining disputed transactions. I won’t be asking Halifax to do anything further. My final decision For the reasons given, my final decision is not to uphold Ms L’s complaint against Bank of Scotland plc, trading as Halifax. Under the rules of the Financial Ombudsman Service, I’m required to ask Ms L to accept or reject my decision before 26 May 2026. Sandra Quinn Ombudsman

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