Upheld: irresponsible lending complaint against NewDay Ltd trading as Aqua
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-6398190 of 2026-06-02T00:00:00+00:00. irresponsible lending complaint against NewDay Ltd trading as Aqua. Outcome: Upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-6398190 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2026-06-02T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | NewDay Ltd trading as Aqua |
| Product | credit card |
| Claim type | irresponsible lending |
| Outcome | Upheld |
| Remedy | NewDay must: (1) Re-work both credit card accounts removing all interest, fees, charges and insurances so Mr J only repays capital borrowed; (2) If re-work results in credit balance, refund to Mr J with 8% simple interest per year from date of each overpayment to settlement; (3) If capital balance remains outstanding, arrange affordable repayment plan; (4) Once capital repaid, remove any adverse credit file information relating to these accounts. |
Summary
Mr J complained that NewDay irresponsibly provided two credit card accounts (June 2017 for £450 and January 2025 for £1,200) without proper affordability checks. The ombudsman upheld the complaint on both accounts. For account one, NewDay used an estimated housing cost of £330 instead of the actual £1,090 visible on the credit check, leaving only £69 monthly for the new borrowing and emergencies. For account two, NewDay should have known Mr J was in financial difficulties based on visible patterns of cash withdrawals, money transfers, and repeated credit limit breaches on other accounts. The ombudsman directed NewDay to re-work both accounts, removing all interest, fees and charges, refunding any credit balances with 8% interest, arranging affordable repayment for any remaining capital, and removing adverse credit file information once repaid.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
For account one, NewDay gathered sufficient information but failed to use it correctly by relying on statistical estimates for housing costs rather than the actual figure visible on the credit check. This left insufficient disposable income (£69 monthly) to sustainably afford the new borrowing. For account two, NewDay's own records demonstrated Mr J was struggling to manage existing borrowing through repeated cash withdrawals, transfers, and credit limit breaches, which should have alerted NewDay that further lending was unaffordable. The ombudsman rejected Mr J's request to write off the debt entirely, finding it fair that he repay the capital borrowed since he received the benefit of the funds, but upheld the requirement to remove all interest, fees, charges and adverse credit file information.
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| NewDay Ltd trading as Aqua, all decisions | 19 | 16% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website