Not upheld: liability for loan obtained through coercion and scam complaint against Mitsubishi HC Capital UK PLC trading as Novuna Personal Finance

Decision detail

Summary

Mr M complained that Novuna Personal Finance should not hold him liable for a £10,000 loan he claims he was coerced into taking out by scammers who threatened him and his family. Initially claiming identity theft, Mr M later accepted he had participated in the application but maintained he acted under duress and did not benefit from the funds. The ombudsman found that Mr M's inconsistent accounts and lack of clear evidence of threats undermined his credibility, and that his knowing participation in completing the application meant he should remain liable for the debt. The ombudsman upheld Novuna's decision to hold Mr M liable and found the £200 compensation for poor service to be fair, declining to uphold the complaint.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that although Mr M claims he was coerced, he knew about the loan and actively participated in completing the application by clicking confirmation emails and providing identity codes. The ombudsman noted that Mr M's inconsistent explanations made his testimony unreliable, and that even if threats were proven, this would not change the outcome because Mr M knowingly assisted in the application and did not benefit from the funds. The ombudsman concluded that Novuna's decision to hold Mr M liable for the loan was fair and reasonable.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website