Not upheld: section 75 claim and chargeback dispute regarding non-refundable fee and cooling off rights complaint against Nationwide Building Society

Decision detail

Summary

Ms S paid £250 to property agent E using her NBS credit card for legal services but attempted to cancel two days later after being unhappy with the allocated solicitor. E refused a refund citing non-refundable terms that Ms S had accepted. Ms S complained to NBS claiming she was entitled to a cooling off period under consumer law and had not read the terms. NBS declined both a chargeback claim and a section 75 claim. The ombudsman upheld NBS's decision, finding that the chargeback had no reasonable prospect of success under scheme rules and that there was no evidence of breach of contract or misrepresentation, as E had provided clear terms which Ms S had confirmed accepting by phone.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that NBS correctly applied chargeback rules by determining the claim had no reasonable prospect of success, as E's terms explicitly stated the fee was non-refundable. Regarding section 75, the ombudsman concluded there was insufficient evidence of breach of contract or misrepresentation. The terms were provided via email with clear highlighting, Ms S accessed additional information before the phone call, and she confirmed acceptance of terms during that call. The ombudsman was not persuaded that even if the no-refund policy had been further highlighted, Ms S would have acted differently given her stated urgency to instruct solicitors immediately. The ombudsman also noted that Ms S's reason for cancellation (dissatisfaction with the allocated solicitor) occurred after the fee was paid and could not have influenced her initial decision.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website