Sally felt discriminated against on the grounds of age when a bank wouldn’t allow her to apply for a loan. This was because she’d be 75 before the end of the loan term.
What happened
Sally felt discriminated against on the grounds of age when a bank wouldn’t allow her to apply for a loan. This was because she’d be 75 before the end of loan term. The bank told her that because of typical life expectancy, there was a risk she wouldn’t be able to repay the loan.
What we said
We looked at the bank’s eligibility requirements. To be considered for a loan, we saw, applicants must be aged under 75 at the end of loan term. We asked the bank for evidence of a risk assessment showing that people over 74 are less likely to meet their loan obligations. The bank did not provide this.
We accept that banks can set their own lending criteria. But we didn’t think it was fair for the bank to refuse to consider an application from Sally because of her age.
It hadn’t considered her individual circumstances at all. And it couldn’t provide any evidence that those over 74 are more at risk of not meeting their loan obligations. Therefore, we didn’t think the bank had acted fairly or reasonably.
Sally successfully applied for a loan elsewhere. So, we didn’t ask the bank to consider a loan application for Sally. However, to reflect the distress and inconvenience she’d experienced, we asked the bank to pay Sally compensation.