Partially upheld: irresponsible lending and failure to intervene complaint against Santander UK Plc
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-6106262 of 2026-05-22T00:00:00+00:00. irresponsible lending and failure to intervene complaint against Santander UK Plc. Outcome: Partially upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-6106262 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2026-05-22T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | Santander UK Plc |
| Product | overdraft |
| Claim type | irresponsible lending and failure to intervene |
| Outcome | Partially upheld |
| Remedy | Santander must re-work Mr M's overdraft balance to remove all additional interest, fees and charges applied from June 2022 onwards. If a balance remains, Santander should contact Mr M to arrange a suitable repayment plan and may record negative information backdated to June 2022. If removing charges results in an overpayment, Santander must return the overpayment plus 8% simple interest from the date made until settlement, and remove any adverse credit file information. Santander must provide a tax certificate if requested. |
Summary
Mr M complained that Santander continued to provide an overdraft facility he could not afford from September 2020 onwards. The overdraft was first provided in 2016 as a student facility and increased in 2018, with interest beginning in September 2020. By June 2022, Mr M had been continuously relying on the overdraft since November 2018, had breached his limit multiple times, taken out additional high-cost loans, and had a monthly salary of approximately £1,400, less than his overdraft limit. The ombudsman upheld the complaint in part, finding that Santander should have taken active steps from June 2022 to help Mr M reduce his overdraft reliance, rather than merely writing to him. Santander was ordered to remove all interest, fees and charges from June 2022 onwards and arrange a repayment plan or return any overpayments with interest.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
The ombudsman found that Santander failed to act fairly by allowing Mr M to continue using the overdraft from June 2022 onwards. By that date, there was clear evidence that Mr M was heavily dependent on the overdraft, had taken out additional loans, and had insufficient income to sustainably reduce or clear the overdraft. While Santander had written to Mr M about his usage, this was insufficient; Santander needed to take active steps to explore ways to help Mr M reduce his reliance on the overdraft, and if those failed, to reduce or remove the facility itself. The ombudsman rejected the argument that Mr M's failure to respond to letters was sufficient justification for inaction.
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| Santander UK Plc, all decisions | 14,412 | 22% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website