Running Account Credit

Lenders must carry out a borrower-focused and proportionate affordability assessment that considers the consumer's actual circumstances, not just unverified household income figures.

A lender must take reasonable steps to ensure that credit agreements remain properly administered and that payment arrangements align with the account holder's actual involvement and instruction.

Lending decisions are matters for the lender's commercial judgment and the ombudsman will not interfere with them, nor require banks to disclose underwriting criteria in advance of applications.

A lender's credit file reporting is accurate where the borrower entered into a payment arrangement that temporarily replaced contractual repayments, even if the borrower misunderstood the terms.

Bank transfer payments are not covered under the Faster Payment Scheme Reimbursement Rules where the dispute is a private civil matter between consumer and seller rather than involving criminal fraud or dishonesty.

Bank transfer payments for goods not received fall outside the Faster Payment Scheme Reimbursement Rules unless they meet the specific definition of an Authorised Push Payment (APP) scam, which requires deception by a fraudster rather than

Financial institutions must apply identity and security checks before granting account access, and customers bear responsibility for promptly contacting the bank to resolve access issues.

A lender must carry out proportionate checks before providing credit to ensure the borrower can sustainably repay, with less thorough checks being reasonable in early lending relationships for modest amounts.

A lender may lawfully default an account and sell the debt where the consumer is in sustained arrears and has failed to meet agreed payment arrangements, provided it complies with ICO guidance and regulatory requirements.

A lender may terminate a hire purchase agreement when the borrower fails to make contractual payments after being given proper notice and opportunity to remedy the default.

A chargeback can only be raised where strict card scheme conditions are met, and a financial business is not obliged to raise a chargeback unless there is a reasonable prospect of success.

A lender must carry out reasonable and proportionate affordability checks before lending to ensure the borrower can sustainably repay, and must not create an unfair credit relationship.

Lenders must carry out reasonable and proportionate affordability checks before increasing credit limits, assessing whether borrowers can sustainably meet repayments.

A credit relationship may be unfair under s.140A of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 if the creditor failed to carry out proportionate affordability checks that would have revealed unaffordable lending.

A Section 75 Consumer Credit Act claim against a credit provider is time-barred under the Limitation Act 1980 where the consumer did not know or could not have known of the cause of action within six years of the credit agreement.

A credit reporting agency acts fairly when it takes reasonable steps to resolve a merged credit file issue, including providing alternative access methods and explanatory notices, even if it cannot fully separate the files online.

A creditor may fairly refuse to honour a section 75 claim raised outside the six-year limitation period under the Limitation Act 1980, regardless of when the debtor became aware of the underlying problem.

A creditor is not liable under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act for a supplier's misrepresentations about a timeshare product when the consumer fails to demonstrate reliance on those representations or provide evidence of what was actu

Lenders must assess affordability proportionately based on loan amount, repayment size, income level, and borrowing pattern, but early-stage lending requires less thorough checks than later loans in a relationship.

Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, goods supplied must be of satisfactory quality including durability, but suppliers have the right to attempt repair before rejecting a complaint.

A credit relationship may be unfair under s.140A of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 if the lender failed to carry out proportionate affordability checks that would have revealed irresponsible lending.