Not upheld: Irresponsible lending complaint against Admiral Financial Services Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr M complained that Admiral irresponsibly lent him £24,900 in February 2025 without conducting appropriate affordability checks, particularly concerning his use of household income rather than personal income and failure to review bank statements. Admiral conducted credit checks revealing Mr M had existing debts of approximately £39,000 but no adverse payment history, verified his income at £66,835 through a credit reference agency, and completed an affordability assessment finding the loan affordable. The ombudsman found Admiral's checks were proportionate, the income verification reasonable, and that Admiral could not have foreseen Mr M's subsequent income reduction when he contacted them in October 2025 about changed working hours. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found Admiral's checks were proportionate given the circumstances. Admiral conducted a credit check identifying all existing commitments, reviewed the application information, verified income through a credit reference agency, and completed an affordability assessment using checked income, housing costs, credit commitments, and statistical data for essential spending. The credit checks showed no adverse information and Mr M was using only 37% of available credit. The loan purpose was debt consolidation which would reduce monthly outgoings. While Mr M had existing debt, this alone does not require automatic rejection. Admiral's verification of income through the credit reference agency (£66,835) was reasonable given Mr M's declared income of £74,000 and his sole account status. The ombudsman could not expect Admiral to foresee Mr M's future income reduction.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website