Not upheld: Card / payment disputes complaint against First Rate Exchange Services Ltd

Decision detail

Summary

Mr A complained about how First Rate Exchange Services Ltd handled 11 chargebacks totalling approximately £3,000 for travel-related transactions made on a pre-paid debit card in July 2023. Mr A claimed he was scammed and did not receive services or promised refunds. FR discontinued all chargebacks after merchants provided detailed defences showing services were provided or were non-refundable. The ombudsman found that Mr A's dispute submissions contained significant inconsistencies regarding transaction types and lacked supporting detail, while merchants provided credible defences. The ombudsman concluded FR acted fairly in discontinuing the chargebacks and did not act unfairly in its customer service approach, and therefore did not uphold the complaint.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the Mastercard chargeback scheme rules and assessed whether FR acted fairly in discontinuing each chargeback. For each transaction, the ombudsman found that merchants provided robust and credible defences demonstrating services were provided or were non-refundable. The ombudsman also noted that Mr A's dispute submissions contained significant inconsistencies and lack of detail, such as claiming car hire or hotel bookings when transactions were actually for flights. The ombudsman concluded FR was not acting unfairly, and in some cases appeared to have gone beyond its obligations by raising chargebacks despite poor quality information.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website