Not upheld: irresponsible lending complaint against Lendable Ltd

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs F complained that Lendable lent irresponsibly when approving a £5,000 loan in March 2025, arguing the lender failed to conduct adequate checks and that she was in financial difficulty with high overdraft and credit dependency. Lendable conducted both soft checks and comprehensive verification including CRA checks and Open Banking data, finding Mrs F had verified income of £1,540 with sufficient disposable income after accounting for the new loan repayment. The ombudsman found the checks were proportionate and the lending decision was fair, as Mrs F's credit file showed good management despite high credit utilisation, and there was no evidence of financial difficulty at the time of lending. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Lendable's checks were reasonable and proportionate for the loan type and amount. Even using the more conservative figures from Lendable's own assessment, there was sufficient disposable income (approximately £928) to support the loan repayment. While Mrs F was utilising significant credit and was in overdraft, her credit file showed she was managing her credit well with no defaults or arrears, which did not indicate financial difficulty at the time of lending. The ombudsman concluded the lending decision was fair based on the information available.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website