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

Decision detail

Summary

Mr S complained that NewDay Ltd trading as Aqua irresponsibly lent to him when approving an Aqua credit card in January 2025 with a £1,200 limit and subsequently increasing it to £2,700 in May 2025 and £3,950 in September 2025. Mr S noted that Aqua were aware of a previous upheld irresponsible lending complaint but still increased his credit limits despite him only making minimum repayments. The ombudsman found that Aqua's proportionate checks at each stage, including affordability assessments and CRA information, supported fair lending decisions, and that Mr S's demonstrated ability to make repayments exceeding minimums and his reducing debt levels did not warrant further investigation. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the principle that each complaint must be considered on its own merits, even where a previous complaint was upheld, as financial circumstances can improve over time. For each lending decision, the ombudsman assessed whether Aqua's checks were proportionate by considering the type and amount of credit, borrower's income and credit history, repayment amounts and frequency, and personal circumstances. The ombudsman found that the absence of adverse CRA information, combined with Mr S's demonstrated ability to make repayments exceeding minimums and his reducing debt levels, meant that further checks such as bank statements were not proportionate. The affordability assessments supported each lending decision.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website