Not upheld: refund claim handling - goods/services not as described complaint against Barclays Bank UK PLC trading as Tesco Bank

Decision detail

Summary

Ms S purchased concert tickets in April 2025 using a Tesco Bank credit card, expecting a holographic performance based on earlier promotional material. When the concert launched without the holographic component, Ms S chose not to attend and requested a refund. Tesco Bank declined both a chargeback claim and a Section 75 claim. The ombudsman found the complaint not upheld, determining there was insufficient evidence that the service was directly described as including a holographic performance at point of sale, and that technical requirements for a Section 75 claim were not met due to the agent intermediary and ticket price below £100.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that while earlier promotional material may have created expectations of a holographic performance, there was insufficient evidence that M directly described the service as including a holographic performance at the point of sale in April 2025. For a chargeback claim to succeed, there must be evidence that the service was materially different from how it was described at point of sale. Ms S's non-attendance limited objective evidence of what was actually delivered. Additionally, the S75 claim failed on two technical grounds: there was no direct debtor-creditor-supplier agreement between Ms S and M (she purchased through an agent), and each ticket cost less than £100, falling outside the £100-£30,000 requirement.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website