Not upheld: irresponsible lending and unfair lending relationship complaint against Black Horse Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Miss B complained that Black Horse irresponsibly provided a hire purchase agreement for a car in March 2021 without conducting proportionate affordability checks. An investigator recommended upholding the complaint, but the ombudsman disagreed. The ombudsman found that while Black Horse could have conducted further checks given Miss B's £15,000 annual income, the available bank statements showed inconsistent spending patterns that did not reliably demonstrate unaffordability. Miss B's representative failed to provide additional bank statements requested to clarify spending inconsistencies. The ombudsman found no evidence of irresponsible lending or unfair lending relationship and did not uphold the complaint.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that while Black Horse could have conducted further checks given Miss B's income level, the available evidence did not demonstrate that the lending was irresponsible or unaffordable. The bank statements provided showed inconsistent spending patterns that made it unreliable to determine essential living costs. The ombudsman was not persuaded that essential living costs exceeded £376 per month. Miss B's representative failed to provide additional bank statements requested to clarify the inconsistencies, and no evidence demonstrated an unfair lending relationship under section 140A of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website