💥 Yet Another Financial Ombudsman Failing: Blaine McInarlin’s Unbelievable Dismissal

The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) is supposed to stand as an independent, fair, and consumer-focused body to resolve financial disputes.

Yet again, it has proven itself unfit for that role.

In what can only be described as one of the most astonishingly flawed decisions to date, FOS investigator Blaine McInarlin has rejected a complaint that clearly evidenced irresponsible lending by First Response Finance.

🚨 The Background: A Clear Case of Unaffordable Lending

Our client approached us after becoming concerned that his motor finance agreement should never have been approved.

We carried out our usual detailed checks—and those concerns were completely justified.

Here’s what we found:

• At the time the agreement was issued, our client was unemployed.
• His credit history showed multiple missed payments.
• He was in active communication with his creditors and had raised affordability complaints—on the recommendation of Citizens Advice.
• He had ceased payments while those affordability complaints were being investigated by his creditors at the time.

In short: this was as clear indication of a consumer in significant financial hardship.

What did First Response Finance do? They gave him even more credit.

❌ FOS Response: Dismissed Without Justification

Despite the clear red flags, FOS investigator Blaine McInarlin attempted to reject the complaint!

Not only did Blaine fail to take into account the unemployment status, or the advice received from Citizens Advice, but there was also a total lack of recognition that the consumer was already in a seriously vulnerable financial position.

This was an active affordability issue in progress—and First Response Finance either didn’t care or chose to ignore it.

And FOS… has attempted to support the actions of First Response.

📉 FOS Has Become an Obstacle to Justice

Blaine’s decision is not just disappointing—it is a damning indictment of the Ombudsman’s continued failure to protect the very people it exists to serve.

This is not a grey area.
This is not borderline affordability.
This is a case where credit should never have been granted.

And yet, Blaine McInarlin’s judgment calls that entire principle into question.

⚖️ We Have Appealed – But This Needs to Be Called Out

We have, of course, appealed the decision.

But this case joins a long and growing list of Financial Ombudsman failures that continue to undermine public confidence in what should be an independent watchdog.

When vulnerable consumers are left abandoned by a service designed to help them, it is more than an error.

It’s a systemic failure.
It’s a disgrace.
It’s time for accountability.