Not upheld: Irresponsible lending complaint against Mallard Leasing Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs K complained that Mallard Vehicle Finance lent irresponsibly when providing a £11,000 car finance agreement in April 2018 with monthly repayments of £299.58 over 59 months. Mrs K had declared employment income of £17,000 annually and rental property income of £2,500 monthly, but the rental income evidence was insufficient (a draft 2014 agreement in a dissolved company name). The ombudsman found that while MVF's checks were not entirely reasonable and proportionate, Mrs K failed to provide bank statements or other evidence of her financial circumstances, making it impossible to conclude she would have been unable to sustainably repay. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman acknowledged that MVF's pre-lending checks were not entirely reasonable and proportionate, particularly regarding verification of the rental income. However, the ombudsman found that Mrs K failed to provide bank statements or other evidence of her financial circumstances at the time of lending, making it impossible to fairly conclude that she would have been unable to sustainably repay the credit. Without sufficient evidence of unaffordability, the complaint could not be upheld.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website