Not upheld: irresponsible lending complaint against Santander UK Plc

Decision detail

Summary

Miss S complained that Santander provided her with a £2,500 credit card irresponsibly in April 2022. Santander conducted pre-lending checks that assessed Miss S's income, existing credit commitments, and day-to-day living costs, finding she had regular income and was managing her accounts well with no adverse credit file information. The ombudsman found these checks were reasonable and proportionate for the credit limit offered, and that Miss S had sufficient disposable income to sustain repayments. The complaint was not upheld, and the ombudsman found no evidence that Santander acted unfairly or lent irresponsibly.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Santander's pre-lending checks were reasonable and proportionate for the credit limit offered. The checks demonstrated Miss S had regular income, manageable existing commitments, and no adverse credit history. Based on the information gathered, Miss S appeared to have sufficient disposable income to sustain repayments. The ombudsman did not consider it necessary for Santander to have requested further evidence of expenditure before providing the facility. There was nothing in the circumstances to suggest Miss S was unlikely to repay the credit sustainably.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website