Not upheld: irresponsible lending - inadequate affordability assessment complaint against Lendable Ltd

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs C complained that Lendable lent to her irresponsibly when she borrowed £2,000 in September 2025 to be repaid over 36 months. Lendable had verified her income, estimated expenditure using industry data, and checked her credit file, but the ombudsman found these checks were not sufficiently proportionate given Mrs C's circumstances including a recent previous loan and credit cards near their limits. However, upon examining Mrs C's bank statements, the ombudsman concluded that more thorough checks would still have shown the loan was sustainably affordable based on her actual income and expenditure. The complaint was not upheld as the inadequate checking procedures did not lead to an irresponsible lending decision.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that while Lendable's affordability checks were not sufficiently proportionate given the three-year commitment and Mrs C's financial circumstances (recent previous loan, credit cards near limits, lower income level), a more thorough check using bank statements would still have shown the loan was sustainably affordable. The ombudsman examined Mrs C's actual income sources and expenditure and concluded that Lendable could reasonably have concluded the loan would be sustainably affordable. Subsequent difficulties in repayment do not indicate irresponsible lending unless the changes were reasonably foreseeable at the time of lending.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website