Partially upheld: Irresponsible lending complaint against Inclusive Finance Limited
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-6136823 of 2026-02-23T00:00:00+00:00. Irresponsible lending complaint against Inclusive Finance Limited. Outcome: Partially upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-6136823 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2026-02-23T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | Inclusive Finance Limited |
| Product | Personal loan |
| Claim type | Irresponsible lending |
| Outcome | Partially upheld |
| Remedy | In respect of loan three: (a) Creditspring must add up total repayments made by Miss W and deduct from total amount borrowed. If Miss W overpaid, refund overpayments plus 8% simple interest from date of overpayment to settlement date, and remove all adverse credit file information. (b) If capital balance remains outstanding, Creditspring must arrange an affordable and suitable payment plan with Miss W, and remove adverse credit file information once cleared. Creditspring should not charge any interest or charges under the loan three credit agreement. |
Summary
Miss W complained that Creditspring lent to her irresponsibly across six drawdowns between February 2024 and July 2025. The ombudsman found that while Creditspring conducted reasonable affordability checks for the first two loans and those were fairly approved, the third loan (£1,000 in May 2025) should not have been approved. At the time of loan three approval, Miss W had only £188 monthly disposable income after outgoings, which was insufficient to cover the required £194.70 monthly repayments with no emergency buffer. Additionally, Creditspring knew Miss W had fallen into arrears on existing debt in April 2025, one month before approving the third loan. The complaint was partially upheld, and Creditspring was ordered to refund any overpayments with interest, remove adverse credit file information, and arrange an affordable payment plan for any remaining capital balance.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
While Creditspring completed reasonable and proportionate affordability checks for all three loans, the checks themselves revealed that loan three was unaffordable. For loan three, Miss W's disposable income of £188 per month was insufficient to cover the required repayments of £194.70 (£166.70 plus £28 fee), leaving no emergency buffer. Additionally, Creditspring had clear evidence that Miss W was in financial difficulty, having received an arrears letter from her one month prior to approving the loan. The ombudsman concluded that based on the information Creditspring obtained through its own checks, it was more likely than not that Miss W would be unable to sustainably repay loan three, making the lending decision unfair.
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| Inclusive Finance Limited, all decisions | 52 | 32% |
| Irresponsible lending, all decisions | 29,406 | 38% |
| Personal loan, all decisions | 22,070 | 30% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website