Not upheld: refund request and loan cancellation - distance selling contract complaint against Conister Bank Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Miss A financed a £3,000 online training course with a fixed sum loan from Conister Bank Limited in July 2025. She requested cancellation shortly after enrolling but was told she had waived her right to cancel by opting for live classes starting within 14 days. Miss A disputed that she had completed enrollment, claiming she had not signed the final agreement document. The Ombudsman found that Miss A validly enrolled when O sent a confirmation email on 28 July 2025, and that the contract terms clearly indicated she would waive cancellation rights by choosing an early start date. Although O provided poor customer service, the Ombudsman concluded that Conister Bank Limited acted fairly in rejecting the refund request, as there was no breach of contract by O and Miss A was aware of the cancellation terms.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The Ombudsman found that Miss A validly enrolled in the course when O sent the confirmation email on 28 July 2025, even though she had not signed all documents. The contract terms clearly stated that opting for a live class starting within 14 days would waive the right to cancel. Although Miss A did not receive all the webinar information, the call recording showed she was aware of the short timeframe, and she did not initially claim to be unaware of the cancellation terms. A Section 75 CCA claim had little prospect of success as there was no evidence of breach of contract or misrepresentation by O - the course materials were made available and the course was as described. The poor customer service from O did not justify allowing cancellation of the finance agreement.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website