Partially upheld: irresponsible lending - failure to conduct proportionate affordability checks complaint against NewDay Ltd trading as Marbles
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-6209949 of 2026-04-09T00:00:00+00:00. irresponsible lending - failure to conduct proportionate affordability checks complaint against NewDay Ltd trading as Marbles. Outcome: Partially upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-6209949 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2026-04-09T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | NewDay Ltd trading as Marbles |
| Product | credit card |
| Claim type | irresponsible lending - failure to conduct proportionate affordability checks |
| Outcome | Partially upheld |
| Remedy | Marbles must: (1) end the agreement and rework the account removing all interest, fees, charges, and insurances applied to balances above £5,250 after 18 October 2024; (2) if rework results in credit balance, refund to Miss M with 8% simple interest per year from date of each overpayment; (3) remove all adverse credit file information recorded after 18 October 2024; (4) if balance still exceeds £5,250 after rework, arrange affordable repayment plan and remove adverse information once cleared; (5) transfer any debt back from recovery agents if necessary |
Summary
Miss M complained that Marbles irresponsibly lent to her by approving a credit card and increasing her limit seven times between June 2021 and August 2025, reaching £8,000. The ombudsman found that the initial approval and increases through February 2024 were fair, as Marbles conducted proportionate affordability checks and Miss M's behaviour improved substantially from March 2023 onwards, with reduced debt and regular overpayments. However, the complaint was upheld from October 2024 onwards, as Marbles should have conducted further checks given significant discrepancies between CATO income figures and Miss M's declared income, and Marbles agreed this decision was unfair. The ombudsman ordered Marbles to rework the account removing all interest, fees, and charges applied above £5,250 after 18 October 2024, refund any credit balance with interest, and remove adverse credit file information from that date.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
The ombudsman found that initial approval and increases through February 2024 were fair because Marbles' checks were proportionate given the circumstances at each stage. However, from October 2024 onwards, Marbles should have conducted further checks given the significant discrepancy between CATO income figures and declared income, particularly when combined with earlier warning signs. The ombudsman noted that by March 2023, Miss M's behaviour improved substantially (reducing debt, making overpayments, not re-using credit), which justified the proportionality of checks at that and subsequent points. However, Marbles agreed with the investigator that the October 2024 decision was unfair, and the ombudsman upheld this and subsequent lending decisions without making independent findings, as they likely would not have occurred but for the October 2024 increase.
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| NewDay Ltd trading as Marbles, all decisions | 11 | 18% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website