Not upheld: irresponsible lending complaint against Inclusive Finance Limited trading as Creditspring

Decision detail

Summary

Miss E complained that Creditspring irresponsibly provided her with a £400 credit agreement in January 2024. The agreement offered two drawdowns of £200 each with maximum monthly repayments of just over £40. Creditspring's checks showed Miss E had no bankruptcies or county court judgments, with the most recent default recorded 64 months prior, and she declared income of £3,500 with expenses of around £350, leaving over £3,000 disposable income. The ombudsman found the checks were reasonable and proportionate, revealed no red flags, and there was nothing to suggest Miss E would be unable to sustainably repay. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found Creditspring's pre-lending checks were reasonable and proportionate for a small credit amount. The checks revealed no significant red flags, Miss E had substantial disposable income of over £3,000 after all deductions, and there was nothing to suggest she would be unable to sustainably repay. The ombudsman rejected the argument that Creditspring should have requested bank statements or been aware of gambling issues, as Miss E did not disclose this and it was not Creditspring's obligation to request statements for this small credit amount.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website