Not upheld: irresponsible lending complaint against NewDay Ltd trading as Marbles

Decision detail

Summary

Miss R complained that NewDay Ltd trading as Marbles irresponsibly lent to her when approving a £900 credit card limit in October 2022. Miss R argued that Marbles failed to consider her existing credit commitments, overdraft usage, mental health conditions, and practical affordability issues. The ombudsman found that Marbles conducted proportionate checks using CRA information and affordability modelling, which showed Miss R had sufficient disposable income to meet repayments. Although Miss R experienced financial difficulties shortly after approval and had mental health vulnerabilities, these were not foreseeable to Marbles at the time of lending. The ombudsman noted that Marbles subsequently showed forbearance by offering payment holidays and interest rate relief. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Marbles' checks were proportionate given the type and amount of credit involved. The lender was not required to request further evidence such as bank statements or pay slips in the absence of adverse credit file information. Although Miss R experienced financial difficulties shortly after approval, this was not foreseeable to Marbles at the time of lending, as there were no missed payments or other adverse indicators. The ombudsman noted that Marbles did show forbearance by offering a payment holiday and later interest rate relief. Miss R's mental health conditions were not disclosed to Marbles prior to approval, so the lender could not have been expected to consider them in the lending decision.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website