DRN-6293235

The complaint Santander UK Plc (Santander) provided Miss S with a credit card around April 2022. It had a credit limit of £2,500. Miss S says the credit was provided irresponsibly. What happened The details of this complaint are well-known to both parties, so I won’t repeat them again here. The facts aren’t in dispute, so I’ll focus on giving the reasons for my decision. What I’ve decided – and why I’ve considered all the available evidence and arguments to decide what’s fair and reasonable in the circumstances of this complaint. We’ve set out our general approach to complaints about unaffordable or irresponsible lending on our website, and I’ve taken this into account in deciding Miss S’ complaint. I’ve decided the credit was provided fairly because: • I think the checks Santander did before providing the credit were reasonable and proportionate given the credit limit they offered and what they knew about Miss S’ financial situation. • I’m satisfied Santander took reasonable steps to determine Miss S’ income and outgoings. These checks showed Miss S had a regular income, her existing credit commitments. And that she was managing her active accounts well with no signs of any adverse information recorded on her credit file. Santander also considered what Miss S’ most likely day to day living costs would be. And I don’t think that there was anything immediately obvious in the information that Santander had which meant they shouldn’t rely on it. • I’m aware Miss S has provided us with bank statements to support her position. But I don’t think Santander needed to have asked Miss S to provide further evidence in support of her expenditure before they provided the credit facility in this instance. • So, I’m satisfied the checks Santander did were reasonable and proportionate for the type and amount of credit they were providing. And based on these checks Miss S had sufficient disposable income to sustain the repayments. • Also, the credit facility was offered with a promotional 0% interest on balance transfers over 15 months which Miss S took advantage of by transferring £2,300 from an interest-bearing account. • Based on the information Santander gathered and what they knew about Miss S’ circumstances, there was nothing to suggest Miss S was unlikely to be able to sustainably repay what she was being lent.

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• I don’t think Santander acted unfairly in any other way. This means I don’t think Santander did anything wrong when they provided the credit card facility to Miss S. I’ve also considered whether the relationship might have been unfair under s.140A of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. However, for the reasons I’ve already given, I don’t think Santander lent irresponsibly to Miss S or otherwise treated her unfairly. I haven’t seen anything to suggest that s.140A or anything else would, given the facts of this complaint, lead to a different outcome here. I know this isn’t the outcome Miss S hoped for. But for the reasons above, I’m not asking Santander to do anything differently. My final decision I don’t uphold this complaint. Under the rules of the Financial Ombudsman Service, I’m required to ask Miss S to accept or reject my decision before 26 May 2026. Anne Scarr Ombudsman

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