Irresponsible lending

Debtmess2010

I've started a self managed DMP and awaiting my first defaults…I've put in irresponsible lending complaints to FOS and all have come back negative mostly saying that although wages were not checked adequate checks were made via my credit score and as I had always managed my accounts well, so my question is can I do anything else or escalate further…thanks for any advice you can give I'm pretty down in the dumps with it all

kaMelo

If these decisions are from an investigator then you can escalate it to an ombudsman for a final decision. If this is an ombudsman decision then that's the end of the FOS road. The only option open to you then is taking the lenders to court.

Debtmess2010

Yes I thought once ombudsman had made their decision its pretty much the end of the road, thank you

ManyWays

Can I check, were all your FOS decisions second-level decisions from an ombudsman? The first decision you get is from a FOS investigator, then, as @kaMelo says, you can argue why the numbers are not right and ask for it to go to an ombudsman.

Debtmess2010

Hi Manyways

I'm not sure at what level the decisions were made im guessing just with an investigator. So do you think it would be worth me going back and arguing as I did find it strange partically the loan from Castle Community Finance given in 2023 of £18k when I was already up to my eyes in it. The FOS did point out that I'd used the income of £38k so I didn't want to rock the boat when I knew I was declaring a higher wage.

Debtmess2010

and thank you for replying :)

Rob5342

It should say in your decision letter what level the person making the decision was at, and it should say that you can escalate it to ombudsman level. They do try and put you off doing that and most of the time the final decision is the same but Nationwide backtracked and made a settlement offer after I escalated it. You have nothing to lose so you might as well exhaust the process.

Debtmess2010

Thank you Rob ….Yes might as well try all avenues open, I just assumed it was cut n dry once they'd made a decision, thanks again will get on to it now

ManyWays

For an 18k loan, a lender should have verified your income and your expenses. If they did not, and a proper check would have showed the loan was unaffordable, you may well win this case. I suggest you dig the decision out and challenge it if you are still in time