Not upheld: irresponsible lending complaint against Capital One (Europe) plc

Decision detail

Summary

Miss L complained that Capital One irresponsibly provided her with a £200 credit card in October 2019. The ombudsman found that Capital One's pre-lending checks were reasonable and proportionate, showing Miss L had approximately £1,179 monthly disposable income after existing commitments and housing costs. Miss L was not overindebted relative to her income, had managed existing credit well with all recent accounts up to date, and demonstrated good repayment behaviour on her existing Capital One card. Capital One had no awareness of Miss L's claimed long-term health conditions as they were not disclosed. The complaint was not upheld and no remedy was ordered.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found Capital One's checks were reasonable and proportionate for a £200 credit limit. The checks showed Miss L had sufficient disposable income of approximately £1,179 monthly after existing commitments and housing costs. Miss L was not overindebted relative to her income, had generally managed existing credit well with recent accounts up to date, had low credit utilisation at 25%, and demonstrated good repayment behaviour on her existing Capital One card. There was no evidence of financial hardship or that Miss L was unlikely to sustainably repay the debt. Capital One had no awareness of vulnerability factors as Miss L did not disclose her health conditions.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website