How we assess affordability, and why we sometimes say no

Eligibility and affordability are different tests

Eligibility asks whether you meet the basic criteria for a product. Affordability asks whether the repayment fits your actual circumstances once your existing commitments are counted. Passing the first does not mean passing the second.

What we look at

• Regular income, and how stable it is.
• Existing credit commitments and their monthly cost.
• The repayment on the amount and term you have asked for.
• Whether a reasonable change in circumstances would break the budget.

Why we build in headroom

A loan that only works if nothing goes wrong is a loan that fails the first time something does. Leaving room is not caution for its own sake; it is the difference between a difficult month and a default.

What a decline means in practice

Most often it means the amount or the term does not fit, not that borrowing is closed to you. A smaller amount, a longer term, or applying again once a commitment has ended will frequently change the outcome.

We tell you why

Where we decline, we say what drove the decision. A decline with no explanation gives you nothing to act on, and leaving you without a route forward is not a service.