Not upheld: unfair decline of lending application complaint against Fintern Ltd trading as Abound

Decision detail

Summary

Ms S complained that Fintern unfairly declined her application for a top-up loan in January 2026 to consolidate debts. She had been making reduced monthly repayments of £121 instead of the contractual £175.73 since August 2025. Fintern declined the application based on their internal policy requiring six consecutive months of full contractual repayments, though they initially failed to provide this reason. The ombudsman found that lenders have the commercial right to set their own lending criteria and that Fintern fairly applied their policy. The apology for not initially disclosing the reason was deemed sufficient resolution, and the complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman determined that lenders have the commercial right to set their own lending criteria and decide who to lend to. Fintern's internal policy requiring six consecutive months of full contractual repayments is a legitimate lending criterion. Ms S failed to meet this criterion as she was paying less than the full amount. While Fintern should have provided the reason for decline when initially asked, they subsequently explained it and apologised for the oversight. The ombudsman found no evidence of unfair application of the lending criteria.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website