Partially upheld: Irresponsible lending complaint against Lendable Ltd
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-6450107 of 2026-07-07T00:00:00+00:00. Irresponsible lending complaint against Lendable Ltd. Outcome: Partially upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-6450107 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2026-07-07T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | Lendable Ltd |
| Product | Personal loan |
| Claim type | Irresponsible lending |
| Outcome | Partially upheld |
| Remedy | Lendable must: (1) refund all interest and charges on the second loan; (2) calculate net position by deducting total repayments from amount borrowed; (3) refund any overpayments with interest at Bank of England base rate plus 1% simple interest; (4) remove all adverse credit file information relating to the second loan; (5) if capital balance remains, arrange an affordable payment plan and remove adverse information once cleared. |
Summary
Mr G complained that Lendable lent irresponsibly by approving two loans despite his financial difficulties. The first loan of £8,000 in November 2021 was found to be fair despite income discrepancies, as verified income supported affordability with consolidation benefits. The second loan of £7,499 in December 2025 was upheld as irresponsible because although checks were proportionate, the resulting disposable income of £75.88 was unsustainable given the loan size and Mr G's recent credit arrears. Lendable must refund all interest and charges on the second loan, arrange an affordable repayment plan for capital, and remove adverse credit file information.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
While Lendable carried out proportionate checks for both loans, the key issue was whether they fairly considered the information obtained. For the first loan, despite the discrepancy between declared and verified income, the verified income still supported affordability with £473 disposable income and consolidation savings of £325 monthly. For the second loan, although checks were proportionate, the resulting disposable income of £75.88 was unsustainable given the loan size, duration, and Mr G's recent signs of credit management difficulties including recent arrears. The ombudsman concluded Lendable failed to act fairly when lending the second loan.
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| Lendable Ltd, all decisions | 420 | 26% |
| Irresponsible lending, all decisions | 30,770 | 37% |
| Personal loan, all decisions | 22,885 | 29% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website