Not upheld: Other regulated complaint complaint against Payment Assist Ltd

Decision detail

Summary

Mr B, a previous customer of Payment Assist Ltd, applied for a new regulated loan in December 2024 after repaying an earlier unregulated loan five months late in July 2024. PAL declined the application based on Mr B's poor payment history. Mr B complained, claiming he had been told he could reapply and felt he had been 'blocked forever.' The ombudsman found that PAL was entitled to make a commercial lending decision based on their criteria, which included payment history, and that telling a customer they could reapply did not guarantee approval. PAL handled the application and complaint promptly and fairly, and the complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

Financial businesses are entitled to make commercial lending decisions based on their own criteria and risk appetite. PAL fairly applied their criteria to Mr B's application, considering his payment history on the previous loan. Telling a customer they can reapply in the future does not constitute a guarantee of approval, and PAL were entitled to assess any new application against their criteria in force at the time of application. PAL handled the application and complaint process promptly and fairly.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website