Not upheld: credit application decline / failure to disclose decline reason complaint against Vodafone Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr P, a long-standing Vodafone customer with an excellent credit score, applied for a loan agreement to purchase a new mobile phone contract on 11 August 2025. Vodafone declined the application and refused to disclose the specific reason for the decline. Mr P complained that this was unfair, but Vodafone maintained its decision in its final response. The ombudsman upheld Vodafone's position, finding that lenders are entitled to set their own lending criteria and decline applications without disclosing commercially sensitive reasons, and that Vodafone had applied its criteria reasonably in this case.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

Lenders are permitted to set their own lending criteria and decline credit applications without obligation to disclose the reason, as this is commercially sensitive information. While the FOS cannot compel disclosure of decline reasons, it can review whether the decline decision was reached fairly. The ombudsman reviewed the information provided by Vodafone and was satisfied that Vodafone applied its lending criteria reasonably to Mr P's application and reached a reasonable decision to decline.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website