Not upheld: Irresponsible lending complaint against IG Markets Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr B complained that IG Markets Limited irresponsibly provided him with a spread betting account despite his gambling addiction and mental health issues, which he believed IG should have identified. Mr B opened the account in March 2022, made small losses, and then did not trade again until late 2024, when he incurred significant losses. He subsequently complained, citing his Gamstop self-exclusion from 2020 and lack of derivatives experience. IG declined to uphold the complaint, arguing it had appropriately assessed his suitability and that nothing in his behaviour indicated vulnerability. The ombudsman agreed, finding that IG's suitability assessment was reasonable given Mr B's financial circumstances and general trading experience, and that there were no obvious red flags in his trading activity that should have alerted IG to vulnerability issues.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that IG appropriately assessed suitability at account opening based on Mr B's financial resilience, general trading experience, and stated knowledge of derivatives (albeit limited). While Mr B lacked derivatives experience, this alone did not make the trading inappropriate when considered alongside his wider circumstances. The ombudsman found nothing in Mr B's early trading conversations or behaviour that should have alerted IG to vulnerability or compulsive trading. The subsequent gap in trading and increased losses in 2024 remained within the financial parameters Mr B had disclosed at outset, and there were no obvious red flags that IG's vulnerability detection systems failed to identify. The ombudsman noted IG had no requirement to check Gamstop status as it applies to gambling, not investment services.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website