Partially upheld: irresponsible lending and failure to take appropriate action upon identifying financial difficulties complaint against MBNA Limited
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-6329383 of 2026-05-05T00:00:00+00:00. irresponsible lending and failure to take appropriate action upon identifying financial difficulties complaint against MBNA Limited. Outcome: Partially upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-6329383 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2026-05-05T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | MBNA Limited |
| Product | credit card |
| Claim type | irresponsible lending and failure to take appropriate action upon identifying financial difficulties |
| Outcome | Partially upheld |
| Remedy | MBNA must: (1) Rework Mr D's credit card balance to refund all interest, fees and charges added from 28 April 2025; (2) If an outstanding balance remains, contact Mr D to arrange a suitable repayment plan; (3) If refunds result in overpayments, return them to Mr D with 8% simple interest from the date made until settlement; (4) Once settled, remove all adverse information recorded about the card from Mr D's credit file from 28 April 2025 onwards. |
Summary
Mr D complained that MBNA irresponsibly lent to him by granting a £5,000 credit card in March 2024 and failed to identify his gambling problem from account usage patterns. The ombudsman found the original lending decision reasonable based on information available at application. However, when Mr D requested a credit limit increase in April 2025, MBNA's affordability data showed negative disposable income of -£108, constituting a clear sign of financial difficulties. MBNA should have taken appropriate action such as suspending the account or arranging a repayment plan, but instead took no action. The ombudsman upheld the complaint in part from 28 April 2025 onwards and directed MBNA to refund all interest, fees and charges from that date, arrange a repayment plan for any remaining balance, and remove adverse credit file information.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
The ombudsman found that the original lending decision in March 2024 was reasonable based on the information available at that time. However, when Mr D requested a credit limit increase in April 2025, MBNA's own affordability data showed negative disposable income of -£108, which was a clear sign of possible financial difficulties. Under CONC 6.7.3A(R), MBNA was required to take appropriate action, such as reaching out to Mr D, suspending the account, or arranging a repayment plan. The ombudsman rejected the argument that MBNA should have identified gambling from transaction patterns, as Mr D was actively concealing his gambling through transfers to other platforms, and the pattern was not sufficiently clear until April 2025. The ombudsman also rejected Mr D's request for a full debt write-off, as MBNA could not have been expected to identify that all borrowing would be used solely for gambling.
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| MBNA Limited, all decisions | 3,866 | 28% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website