She said the bank failed to consider her and Ralph’s ages and the 30-year loan term. She said she and Ralph never intended to work past retirement or accelerate repayments and denied telling the bank they would do so.

Our investigation

We considered whether the bank breached its obligations under the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003, the Responsible Lending Code, and the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance (Lender Inquiries into Suitability and Affordability) Amendment Regulations. We examined the bank’s notes from the time, and they showed it had considered the couple’s age and future plans, including discussing with them their plan to work past retirement and accelerate repayments. Theresa denied that any telephone discussions with the bank took place, but her emails sent at the time referred to phone conversations with the bank, which supported the bank’s records.  

We also reviewed the bank’s affordability assessment. The bank verified income and expenses, applied conservative calculations, and included reasonable buffers. There was a reasonable surplus of income over expenses, and the bank made inquiries about likely changes to income. We found the bank had reasonable grounds to believe the couple could meet repayments without suffering substantial hardship, having regard to any likely changes in income.

Outcome

We did not uphold Theresa’s complaint.