Not upheld: irresponsible lending and credit limit increases complaint against J D Williams & Company Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Miss M complained that J D Williams lent to her irresponsibly by failing to conduct appropriate affordability checks and increasing her credit limit from £200 to £1,500 between September 2021 and June 2022. She argued that as a vulnerable customer with mental health conditions and no meaningful disposable income, the lender should have identified her financial difficulties. The ombudsman found that J D Williams' checks were proportionate and that the available information—including CRA data and account management history—showed stable finances and good payment behaviour throughout the period. The ombudsman noted that Miss M's vulnerability was not brought to the lender's attention until December 2025, after she had stopped paying in September 2022, and therefore the lender could not have reasonably known of her difficulties at the time of lending. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied CONC regulations requiring proportionate affordability assessments to ensure sustainable repayment. At account opening, the credit check showed low debt and good management, making the modest initial limit reasonable. For subsequent increases, J D Williams reviewed both internal account management data and external CRA information. Throughout the period, Miss M made regular payments, used only about a quarter of available credit, and showed no signs of financial difficulty. The ombudsman found nothing in the available information suggested Miss M was struggling, and her vulnerability was not communicated to the lender until after she had already stopped paying. The ombudsman concluded the checks were proportionate to the circumstances and lending decisions were fair based on what J D Williams knew at the time.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website