However, Marvin was still unhappy. He said his bank statements showed “loan payment failed” and “insufficient funds”, and he wanted these references removed from the statements because the error was the bank’s. He asked the bank to repay the interest part of the loans, but it refused to do so. The bank cannot alter a bank statement but provided Marvin with a letter explaining the entries were because of a bank error.

Our investigation

We found the bank had not acted with reasonable care and skill by failing to load the repayment deferrals. However, the mistake caused Marvin no direct financial loss because the interest was payable regardless. The bank was unable to amend the statements, but in any case it made no difference to his credit record.

Outcome

We considered the bank's offer of $200 compensation to be reasonable and recommended Marvin accept it, which he declined to do.