Not upheld: Irresponsible lending complaint against Mitsubishi HC Capital UK PLC trading as Novuna

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs S complained that Novuna lent her £10,000 irresponsibly and should not hold her liable for the debt after she was scammed into using the funds for a fraudulent cryptocurrency investment. Novuna refused to write off the loan, arguing that Mrs S applied for it herself with genuine details and that affordability checks showed the £273.11 monthly repayments were affordable based on her declared income of £37,000 and existing credit commitments of £5,000. The ombudsman upheld Novuna's position, finding that Mrs S was liable for the loan as she applied for it herself, the affordability assessment was proportionate and reasonable, and Novuna would not have had visibility of other loans taken out in the same period due to credit file update delays.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Mrs S accepted she applied for the loan herself and that funds were paid into an account in her name, making Novuna entitled to hold her liable despite the scam. The affordability assessment was proportionate given the loan size of £10,000, 48-month term, and monthly repayment of £273.11. The ombudsman noted that credit files take up to four weeks to update, so it was unlikely Novuna would have seen the other loans taken out in the same period when making its lending decision on 20 March 2025.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website