Not upheld: irresponsible lending, unfair default and termination, SAR handling complaint against Oodle Financial Services Limited trading as Oodle Car Finance

Decision detail

Summary

Miss D complained that Oodle irresponsibly provided her with a hire purchase agreement for a car in August 2021, failed to provide full information, unfairly defaulted and terminated the agreement despite her making payments, and delayed responding to her SAR. The ombudsman found that while Oodle's pre-lending checks were not fully documented, they would not have revealed lending was unfair based on Miss D's circumstances at the time. The default and termination in January-April 2025 were reasonable given Miss D had accumulated arrears of around £3,000, the agreement had been in arrears for several years, and Oodle could not contact her from November 2024 onwards. The SAR was handled within required timeframes. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that while Oodle's pre-lending checks were not fully documented and may not have been proportionate, if proper checks had been conducted they would not have revealed that lending was unfair. Miss D's circumstances at the time showed no signs of financial difficulty beyond overdraft use, with no missed payments or defaults. The default and termination were reasonable given the significant arrears (around £3,000), the agreement being in arrears for several years, and Oodle's inability to contact Miss D from November 2024 onwards. The SAR was handled within required timeframes. Oodle was aware of Miss D's vulnerabilities and attempted to assist her appropriately.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website