Not upheld: irresponsible lending complaint against Vanquis Bank Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Miss S complained that Vanquis irresponsibly lent her a £3,000 credit card in March 2025 despite her having £44,035 in existing debt and spending £2,000 monthly on debt servicing. The ombudsman found that while Vanquis's initial affordability checks were proportionate, the fact that Miss S had exceeded one credit card limit and was at or near limits on multiple accounts should have triggered further investigation. However, upon reviewing Miss S's bank statements, the ombudsman determined she had sufficient non-essential spending to demonstrate adequate disposable income for sustainable repayments without further borrowing, meaning Vanquis would have reached the same lending decision even with additional checks. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that while Vanquis's initial checks were proportionate, the fact that Miss S exceeded one credit card limit and was at or near limits on multiple accounts should have prompted further checks. However, upon reviewing bank statements, the ombudsman concluded that Miss S had sufficient non-essential spending to demonstrate disposable income adequate for sustainable repayments without further borrowing. Therefore, even with additional checks, Vanquis would have reached the same lending decision.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website