Not upheld: Irresponsible lending complaint against Match the Cash Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs D and Miss D complained that Match the Cash Limited lent irresponsibly when providing them with a £5,000 unsecured loan in February 2022 with monthly repayments of £234. They argued that adequate checks were not undertaken and that the lender should have identified that the loan was unaffordable. Match the Cash maintained that it had conducted proportionate income and expenditure assessments, verified information against bank statements and credit checks, and determined the loan was affordable. The ombudsman found the checks were proportionate and that the information obtained supported affordability, with reasonable disposable income remaining after repayments and other commitments. Although both borrowers had historical defaults on their credit files, these were sufficiently aged and recent credit management did not raise concerns. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman assessed whether the checks carried out were proportionate to the loan type, amount, term, and repayment frequency. Finding the checks reasonable, the ombudsman then examined whether the information obtained supported affordability. The income and expenditure assessments showed reasonable disposable income remaining after loan repayments and other commitments. While historical defaults were noted on both borrowers' credit files, these were sufficiently aged and recent credit management did not raise concerns. Miss D's recent short-term borrowing was contextualised by her stated intention to use the new loan to repay these. Overall, the information supported that the loan was affordable and did not indicate irresponsible lending.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website