Not upheld: Service failures generally complaint against National Westminster Bank PLC

Decision detail

Summary

Mr Z complained that NW declined two credit card applications (2024 and 2025) citing inability to verify his income. Mr Z had provided full supporting documentation including payslips, P60, and identification, but his evidenced income fell more than 5% below his declared income when assessed against NW's three-month payslip review process. The ombudsman found the 2024 complaint out of jurisdiction as it was referred more than six months after the final response. For the 2025 application, the ombudsman upheld NW's decision as a legitimate commercial decision made in accordance with its lending criteria, which NW was not obliged to disclose to Mr Z. The ombudsman declined to require approval of the application or removal of credit searches.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that lenders are entitled to apply their own business-sensitive lending criteria and are not obliged to disclose these criteria to applicants. NW's process of considering only the last three months of payslips and applying a 5% tolerance level are standard lending practices. The ombudsman confirmed that NW followed its processes correctly and that the decline was based on income verification criteria not being met, not affordability concerns. While the ombudsman acknowledged Mr Z's frustration and noted that NW could have been more sensitive in its wording regarding income accuracy, this did not constitute unfair treatment. The ombudsman found no evidence of error or unfair process in NW's assessment.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website