Not upheld: Irresponsible lending complaint against J.D. Williams & Company Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Miss C complained that JD Williams lent irresponsibly by opening a Simply Be catalogue account and providing four credit limit increases when she was already highly indebted and in financial difficulty. She also complained about two additional accounts opened while she was struggling financially. JD Williams upheld the complaint for the two additional accounts and provided refunds, but not for the Simply Be account. The ombudsman found that JD Williams's initial checks were proportionate for the modest £500 limit, and while income verification should ideally have been obtained for later increases, review of Miss C's actual financial position showed sufficient disposable income to afford the lending with no signs of financial difficulty visible to the firm at the time. The ombudsman did not uphold the complaint.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied proportionality principles to assess whether JD Williams's checks were appropriate for the type and amount of credit offered. For the initial account opening, the modest £500 limit requiring only £25 monthly repayment, combined with clean credit file information, made proportionate checks sufficient. For the later credit limit increases, while the ombudsman found JD Williams should have verified income, review of Miss C's actual bank statements and credit file showed sufficient disposable income (£300+ buffer after living costs and commitments) to afford the lending. The account usage patterns (under 50% utilisation, some overpayments) indicated Miss C was not reliant on the credit and managing it well. No information available to JD Williams at the time suggested financial difficulty prior to November 2025.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website