Not upheld: Irresponsible lending complaint against Zopa Bank Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs M complained that Zopa Bank Limited provided her with a credit card irresponsibly in 2023. Zopa had conducted an affordability assessment using Mrs M's income information and credit reference agency data, which showed she was managing existing credit well and had sufficient disposable income. Mrs M argued that Zopa should have conducted further checks based on her limited outgoings and that such checks would have revealed gambling transactions. The ombudsman found that Zopa's checks were reasonable and proportionate to the circumstances, that Mrs M had not disclosed her gambling to Zopa, and that reasonable enquiries would not have revealed it. The complaint was not upheld, and no remedy was ordered.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Zopa's pre-lending checks were reasonable and proportionate to the level of potential borrowing and Mrs M's known circumstances. The checks included obtaining income information, reviewing CRA data, and conducting an affordability assessment that showed sufficient disposable income. The ombudsman rejected Mrs M's argument that further checks should have been conducted based on her limited outgoings, as the checks performed were adequate. The ombudsman also found that Zopa was not made aware of gambling issues before lending and that reasonable enquiries would not have revealed such transactions. No unfairness was found under section 140A of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website