Not upheld: irresponsible lending complaint against Tandem Bank Limited (formerly Oplo PL limited)

Decision detail

Summary

Mr T complained that Oplo irresponsibly provided him with a £12,000 loan in June 2021. Oplo had verified Mr T's income, conducted a credit check, and called him before approving the loan, though the check identified some missing payments. The ombudsman found that while further questioning about the missing payments would have been reasonable, proportionate checks would not have revealed unfair lending. With verified income of £2,681 per month, a satisfactory credit file, and the loan reducing his monthly outgoings through debt consolidation, there was nothing to suggest Mr T could not sustainably repay the loan. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the FOS general approach to unaffordable or irresponsible lending. While Oplo's pre-lending checks could have been more thorough and further questions about missing payments would have been reasonable, the ombudsman concluded that proportionate checks would not have revealed that lending was unfair. Mr T's verified income, satisfactory credit file, up-to-date credit commitments, and the fact that the loan would reduce his monthly outgoings through debt consolidation all supported the conclusion that there was nothing to suggest Mr T was likely to be unable to sustainably repay the loan. The ombudsman also considered the relationship under s.140A of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 but found no unfairness.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website