Not upheld: irresponsible lending complaint against Zopa Bank Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr T complained that Zopa Bank Limited irresponsibly provided him with two personal loans (£2,000 in June 2024 and £6,500 in August 2024). Mr T later disclosed to the ombudsman that he had excessive gambling habits and that his early repayment of the first loan resulted from a gambling win. The ombudsman found that Zopa's pre-lending checks were reasonable and proportionate, using verified income of £3,548 net monthly and reasonably calculated living costs to determine Mr T had sufficient disposable income to afford the repayments. The ombudsman decided not to uphold the complaint, as the decision was based on information available to Zopa at the time of lending, not information disclosed later during the complaint process.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Zopa's pre-lending checks were reasonable and proportionate given the loan sizes. Using verified income figures and reasonably calculated living costs, Zopa determined Mr T had sufficient disposable income to afford the repayments. The ombudsman reviewed Zopa's affordability assessment and found it took a reasonable approach. Although Mr T disclosed gambling issues and that early repayment of loan one resulted from a gambling win, the ombudsman based the decision on evidence available to Zopa at the time of lending, not information revealed later. Bank statements provided during the complaint were not considered necessary for the original lending decision given what Zopa's checks showed.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website