Upheld: irresponsible lending - inadequate affordability assessment complaint against Bamboo Limited
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-5950164 of 2026-04-28T00:00:00+00:00. irresponsible lending - inadequate affordability assessment complaint against Bamboo Limited. Outcome: Upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-5950164 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2026-04-28T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | Bamboo Limited |
| Product | Personal loan |
| Claim type | irresponsible lending - inadequate affordability assessment |
| Outcome | Upheld |
| Remedy | Bamboo must: (1) remove all interest, fees and charges from the loan; (2) deduct payments made by Mr C from the original £8,396.00 principal, refunding any overpayments; (3) pay 8% simple interest per year on overpayments from date paid to settlement; (4) arrange a suitable repayment plan if a balance remains; (5) remove all adverse credit file information if no balance remains. |
Summary
Mr C complained that Bamboo irresponsibly lent him £8,396.00 in June 2025 when he had over £100,000 in outstanding debt and insufficient disposable income to sustainably repay the loan. Bamboo relied on ONS modelled expenditure data and CRA income verification, concluding Mr C was creditworthy. The ombudsman found these checks were not proportionate given Mr C's high debt levels and cash advances (indicating financial difficulty), and that proper checks would have revealed only £60 monthly disposable income remained after expenses. The complaint was upheld, and Bamboo was ordered to remove all interest and charges, refund overpayments with interest, and remove adverse credit file information if the principal is repaid.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
The ombudsman found that while Bamboo's income checks were adequate, the expenditure checks using ONS modelled data were not proportionate to Mr C's specific circumstances. Given Mr C's high unsecured debt levels, cash advances, and the resulting disposable income of only £60 per month, the modelled data was unreliable. The ombudsman concluded that proportionate checks would have revealed Mr C could not sustainably repay the loan without financial difficulty, even accounting for the debt consolidation benefit.
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| Bamboo Limited, all decisions | 223 | 41% |
| Personal loan, all decisions | 22,070 | 30% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website