Not upheld: irresponsible lending; complaint handling accuracy; alleged discrimination; use of artificial intelligence in communications complaint against Lendable Ltd trading as Zable

Decision detail

Summary

Mr W complained that Zable irresponsibly lent him a £350 credit card in February 2025 without conducting adequate affordability checks. He stopped making payments from April 2025 and complained in January 2026. Zable had already provided forbearance from May 2025, including frozen interest and charges, and subsequently closed the account, wrote off the outstanding balance, and removed adverse credit file information. The ombudsman found no basis to investigate the lending decision as Zable's remedial actions exceeded any remedy that could be ordered, and found the firm acted reasonably once aware of Mr W's circumstances. Secondary complaints about complaint handling accuracy, discrimination, and use of artificial intelligence were also not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman declined to review Zable's lending decision because the firm had already taken remedial action that exceeded what would be ordered if unfair lending were found. Zable had frozen interest and charges, provided forbearance measures, written off the outstanding balance, and removed adverse credit file information. The ombudsman found Zable acted reasonably once aware of Mr W's circumstances. Regarding secondary complaints about complaint handling and other matters, the ombudsman found no evidence of unfair or unreasonable conduct, and no basis for a Section 140A unfair relationship claim.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website