Not upheld: irresponsible lending complaint against Oakbrook Finance Limited trading as Finio Loans

Decision detail

Summary

Mr W complained that Finio irresponsibly lent him £5,000 in March 2025, arguing that his income was overstated through CATO verification and that he had significant existing debt including maxed-out overdrafts and credit cards. Finio and the FOS investigator rejected the complaint, but Mr W escalated to the ombudsman. The ombudsman found that Finio's checks were proportionate: they verified income through CATO (an industry standard), used modelling to estimate living costs, and were aware of all credit commitments through CRA checks. With calculated disposable income of £3,008.06 monthly and total unsecured debt at less than 10% of declared income, the loan repayments of £293.43 monthly were sustainable and affordable. The ombudsman did not uphold the complaint.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found Finio's checks were proportionate because: (1) they verified income through CATO, an industry standard method, which supported Mr W's declared income; (2) they used modelling to estimate living costs, taking the higher figure; (3) they were aware of all credit commitments through CRA checks; (4) the resulting disposable income of £3,008.06 monthly showed the loan repayments were sustainable; (5) the loan amount was only 4% of declared gross income; (6) total unsecured debt was less than 10% of declared income; and (7) there was no adverse information on the credit file. The ombudsman rejected the argument that further checks like bank statements were needed, as this would not be proportionate given the circumstances.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website