Upheld: irresponsible lending / unfair account management / failure to exercise forbearance complaint against ONMO Limited
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-5963887 of 2026-04-15T00:00:00+00:00. irresponsible lending / unfair account management / failure to exercise forbearance complaint against ONMO Limited. Outcome: Upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-5963887 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2026-04-15T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | ONMO Limited |
| Product | Credit card |
| Claim type | irresponsible lending / unfair account management / failure to exercise forbearance |
| Outcome | Upheld |
| Remedy | ONMO must rework the account by removing all interest, fees and charges applied since 18 February 2025. If this results in a credit balance, it must be refunded with 8% simple interest per year from the date of each overpayment. If a balance remains, ONMO must arrange a suitable repayment plan. ONMO must remove all adverse credit file information applied after 18 February 2025. |
Summary
Mr G complained about ONMO's handling of his credit card account following a previous upheld lending decision. After entering a debt management plan in February 2024, Mr G's payments ceased in September 2024. ONMO did not contact him until January 2025 and requested income and expenditure information to establish an affordable repayment plan, which Mr G did not provide. When Mr G cleared arrears in February 2025, ONMO reactivated the account without obtaining the requested financial information, despite knowing of his financial difficulties and problem gambling disclosed in a previous FOS complaint. The ombudsman upheld the complaint, finding ONMO should not have reactivated the account without understanding Mr G's financial situation, and directed ONMO to remove all interest, fees and charges applied since reactivation.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
While ONMO took some appropriate steps in line with regulatory obligations (suspending interest and charges, requesting I&E information), it failed to adequately assess Mr G's ability to sustainably repay before reactivating the account. The ombudsman found that ONMO should have been aware of Mr G's problem gambling from the previous FOS investigation and his prolonged payment difficulties. Three payments in February 2025 were insufficient evidence of sustainable repayment capacity, particularly without understanding his financial situation. The immediate incurrence of overlimit and late payment fees after reactivation demonstrated the lending was not sustainable.
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| ONMO Limited, all decisions | 36 | 32% |
| Credit card, all decisions | 25,211 | 22% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website