Not upheld: Mortgage administration / arrears handling complaint against Newbury Building Society

Decision detail

Summary

Mr K applied for a remortgage with Newbury Building Society after initially discussing a £90,000 loan in January 2020. When he formally applied in March 2020, the lender had reduced their lending offer to £76,000 due to Covid-19 policy changes. After requesting and reviewing income verification evidence, the lender declined the application citing inability to verify income and three interim charging orders on Mr K's property. Mr K complained of discrimination and prejudice, but the ombudsman found the lender acted fairly and reasonably in applying their lending criteria and conducting responsible lending checks, with no evidence of differential treatment.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Newbury Building Society was entitled to change its lending criteria in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and was not obligated to honour the preliminary £90,000 figure discussed in January 2020 before any formal application was made. The lender acted reasonably in requesting income verification and in declining the application based on both the inability to verify income and the presence of three interim charging orders on the property. The ombudsman found no evidence of discrimination or prejudicial treatment and confirmed the lender followed FCA guidelines on responsible lending by conducting necessary affordability checks.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website