Not upheld: Irresponsible lending complaint against 247 Money Group Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Miss S complained that Money Group lent to her irresponsibly in June 2021 for vehicle finance of £4,295, claiming the firm failed to properly assess her creditworthiness given she had a CCJ. Money Group asserted it had verified her income and conducted credit searches using ONS data for expenses. The ombudsman found Money Group could not provide evidence of the checks it claimed to have performed, failing to meet its obligation to conduct proportionate checks. However, examining Miss S's bank statements and credit file, the ombudsman concluded that proper checks would have revealed she had good credit history, was managing existing credit well, and had sufficient disposable income to afford the agreement. The complaint was not upheld as the lending decision would not have been shown to be unreasonable.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman acknowledged Money Group failed to provide evidence of proportionate checks as required. However, using available evidence (bank statements and credit file), the ombudsman determined that had Money Group conducted proper checks, it would have found Miss S had a good credit history, was not over-indebted, was managing existing credit well, and had sufficient disposable income after essential expenses to afford the new agreement and associated car costs. Therefore, the lending decision would not have been shown to be unreasonable.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website