Not upheld: irresponsible lending complaint against Oakbrook Finance Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Miss M complained that Oakbrook Finance Limited provided her with a second loan of £4,797.48 in November 2025 irresponsibly, following an earlier loan in April 2025 which the firm had already upheld a complaint about. The ombudsman examined whether the firm conducted adequate affordability checks and found that it did, verifying Miss M's income of £2,000 monthly and assessing her existing commitments of £374 monthly against third-party estimates for living expenses. With approximately £468 remaining after all deductions, the ombudsman concluded Miss M was not overindebted and the loan was provided fairly. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Oakbrook Finance conducted reasonable and proportionate checks before providing the credit. The checks showed Miss M had sufficient income relative to her existing commitments and the new loan repayment, with a reasonable buffer remaining. The historic default was sufficiently old and there were no recent missed payments or other adverse indicators. The use of third-party estimates for living expenses was reasonable given the loan size and credit check results. Taking multiple loans within a short timeframe was not concerning when the second loan repaid the first and the overall credit level was manageable.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website