Upheld: inadequate information and advice regarding payment break consequences; failure to explain daily interest charges and payment date implications complaint against Gain Credit LLC trading as Lending Stream

Decision detail

Summary

Miss G complained that Lending Stream agreed to a payment break due to her undergoing medical tests but failed to adequately explain that daily interest would continue to accrue and that her payment date change would result in a larger August 2025 payment. She received missed payment letters and emails despite the agreed break, and continued to receive payment demands and default warnings even after referring the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman. The Investigator upheld the complaint, and Lending Stream agreed to the proposed resolution. The Ombudsman upheld the complaint, finding that Lending Stream's failure to provide complete information on multiple occasions caused distress and inconvenience, and confirmed that the settlement (reducing the balance to £1,000 and removing adverse credit markers from August 2025) was fair and reasonable.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The Ombudsman found that Lending Stream made errors on multiple occasions by failing to provide Miss G with complete information about the consequences of the payment break, specifically regarding daily interest charges and the impact of the payment date change. While Lending Stream was entitled to continue collection activity during the complaint investigation (as there is no regulatory prohibition), the firm's failure to adequately explain the financial implications of its actions caused distress and inconvenience. The Ombudsman considered the settlement offered by the Investigator (balance reduction to £1,000 and removal of adverse credit markers from August 2025) to be fair and reasonable, as it addresses the core complaint about inadequate information without requiring further compensation.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website