Not upheld: Irresponsible lending complaint against Salary Finance Loans Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr L complained that Salary Finance Loans Limited irresponsibly lent him £500 in July 2025 without conducting proper affordability checks, despite him being unemployed at the time and having pre-filled income information he was not given opportunity to correct. Salary Finance accepted the complaint and offered to refund all interest and charges (£16.40) and remove adverse credit file information, but refused to write off the £500 capital balance. Mr L rejected this offer and escalated to the FOS, arguing he had no capacity to repay due to ongoing unemployment and financial hardship. The ombudsman did not uphold the complaint, finding Salary Finance's offer was fair and in line with FOS approach, and that Mr L's circumstances, while difficult, were not exceptional enough to warrant full debt write-off, particularly as bank statements showed he had capacity for meaningful repayments.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman accepted that Salary Finance lent irresponsibly and found its offer to refund all interest and charges (totalling £16.40) and remove adverse credit file markers was in line with FOS's well-established approach to irresponsible lending complaints. The ombudsman rejected the request for full debt write-off, finding that while Mr L's circumstances are difficult, they are not exceptional enough to warrant departure from standard practice. The ombudsman noted that Mr L had capacity to make meaningful repayments based on his bank statements and that his situation could improve in future. The ombudsman also reasoned that Mr L benefitted from the use of the £500 and it is fair that the capital be repaid.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website