Upheld: Irresponsible lending complaint against Gain Credit LLC, trading as Lending Stream
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-6307546 of 2026-06-18T00:00:00+00:00. Irresponsible lending complaint against Gain Credit LLC, trading as Lending Stream. Outcome: Upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-6307546 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2026-06-18T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | Gain Credit LLC, trading as Lending Stream |
| Product | Personal loan |
| Claim type | Irresponsible lending |
| Outcome | Upheld |
| Remedy | GC must: (a) refund all interest, fees and charges Mr W paid on the loan; (b) add simple annual interest using the time-weighted average Bank of England base rate plus one percentage point to any refunded amounts from the date paid to the date of refund; (c) remove any relevant adverse information recorded on Mr W's credit file as a result of the lending. |
Summary
Mr W borrowed £1,500 from Lending Stream in August 2024 and complained in January 2026 that the firm had lent irresponsibly. Mr W had declared monthly outgoings of £225 towards credit commitments, but GC's credit checks revealed he was actually paying £1,757 with 23 active accounts totalling £57,109. The ombudsman upheld the complaint, finding GC should have conducted further checks given the significant discrepancy, which would have revealed five loans taken in the preceding five months and unsustainable total indebtedness. GC was ordered to refund all interest, fees and charges plus interest, and remove adverse credit file entries.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
GC was required to assess whether Mr W could sustainably repay the loan, not merely whether he had enough money technically. The vast discrepancy between Mr W's declared credit commitments (£225) and the actual amount revealed by credit checks (£1,757) should have triggered further investigation. Given Mr W's overall indebtedness level, the recent trend of escalating borrowing (five loans in five months), and combined monthly loan payments of around £1,400, further checks would have revealed the lending was unaffordable. GC failed to carry out proportionate checks and should not have lent to Mr W.
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| Gain Credit LLC, trading as Lending Stream, all decisions | 16 | 34% |
| Irresponsible lending, all decisions | 30,675 | 37% |
| Personal loan, all decisions | 23,643 | 29% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website