Upheld: Irresponsible lending complaint against I C LOANS LIMITED
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-6147021 of 2026-07-07T00:00:00+00:00. Irresponsible lending complaint against I C LOANS LIMITED. Outcome: Upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-6147021 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2026-07-07T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | I C LOANS LIMITED |
| Product | Personal loan |
| Claim type | Irresponsible lending |
| Outcome | Upheld |
| Remedy | I C LOANS must: (1) remove all interest, fees and charges applied to loans 4-14; (2) treat payments made by Mr W as deductions from the £5,050 principal originally lent, refunding any overpayments; (3) add 8% per year simple interest on overpayments from date paid to settlement; (4) arrange a suitable repayment plan if any balance remains; (5) remove all adverse credit file information if no balance remains after adjustments. |
Summary
Mr W complained that I C LOANS irresponsibly lent to him between June 2019 and November 2024, providing 14 loans totalling £5,050 when he was already struggling financially and on benefits. An Investigator partially upheld the complaint from loan 10 onwards, but the Ombudsman found the firm should have stopped lending from loan 4 onwards. The Ombudsman determined that I C LOANS failed to conduct proportionate affordability assessments, particularly given overlapping loan repayments, increasing indebtedness, and financial difficulties evident in bank statements the firm obtained. The firm was ordered to remove all interest, fees and charges from loans 4-14, refund any overpayments with 8% interest, and remove adverse credit file information if no balance remains.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
The ombudsman found that I C LOANS failed to conduct proportionate, borrower-focused affordability assessments as required by regulations. While loans 1-3 involved proportionate checks, from loan 4 onwards the firm should have recognized that Mr W was becoming overindebted through overlapping loans, increasing indebtedness, and clear signs of financial difficulty evident in the bank statements they obtained. The firm's reliance on Mr W's stated loan purpose (holidays, Christmas) was insufficient to discharge its affordability obligations. The pattern of repeat lending was unsustainable and caused financial harm, particularly as Mr W's total debt exceeded the firm's own maximum lending threshold.
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| I C LOANS LIMITED, all decisions | 2 | 75% |
| Irresponsible lending, all decisions | 30,770 | 37% |
| Personal loan, all decisions | 22,885 | 29% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website