Not upheld: Irresponsible lending complaint against Oakbrook Finance Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr S complained that Oakbrook Finance Limited lent to him irresponsibly across four loans between July 2020 and July 2025, arguing that adequate affordability checks would have revealed he was in financial difficulty. Mr S had a poor credit history with previous defaults and later disclosed gambling activity. Oakbrook conducted CRA checks, validated income through CATO data, and assessed disposable income using ONS living expense data for each loan. The ombudsman found that Oakbrook's checks were reasonable and proportionate, that Mr S's income was validated and disposable income was positive for each loan, and that there was no recent adverse credit information at the time of lending. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the regulatory requirement for proportionate affordability checks considering the type, amount, duration and cost of credit, and the borrower's circumstances. For each loan, Oakbrook conducted CRA checks, validated income through CATO, and assessed disposable income using ONS data for living expenses. The ombudsman found that the checks were reasonable and proportionate given the loan amounts, Mr S's validated income, lack of recent adverse credit information, and positive loan management history. The ombudsman concluded that bank statement reviews were not proportionate and that gambling transactions would not have been reasonably evident to Oakbrook. The ombudsman also considered Section 140A of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 and found no unfair relationship.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website