Not upheld: Irresponsible lending complaint against Vanquis Bank Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr T complained that Vanquis acted irresponsibly by lending him £5,000 on a credit card in April 2025 without proper affordability checks, despite his financial hardship and high existing debt. Vanquis conducted checks showing Mr T had declared income of £50,000, existing unsecured debt of £28,300, and disposable income of £910 after accounting for living costs and the new credit. The ombudsman found the checks were reasonable and proportionate, the information was fairly considered, and there was nothing indicating financial difficulty at the time of lending. The complaint was not upheld as the ombudsman concluded Vanquis acted fairly in providing the credit.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the regulatory requirement for proportionate affordability checks and found that Vanquis's checks were reasonable given the type and amount of credit. The checks properly assessed Mr T's ability to repay sustainably based on his declared income of £50,000, existing credit obligations of £28,300, calculated living costs of £919, and resulting disposable income of £910 after the new credit. The ombudsman found it fair for Vanquis to rely on Mr T's declared income despite his self-employment and income variability, and concluded there was nothing in the available information indicating financial difficulty at the time of lending. The ombudsman also noted that concerns about marketing and debt recovery were not properly raised to Vanquis initially and therefore were not considered.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website