Not upheld: disputed transactions and refund claim complaint against National Westminster Bank Public Limited Company

Decision detail

Summary

Mr G complained that NatWest should refund nine gambling transactions totalling £670 made to GamStop-registered sites, arguing the sites should not have accepted payments from him as a registered GamStop user. NatWest refused, citing MasterCard rules that exclude gambling transactions from dispute protection. The ombudsman found NatWest was not responsible for GamStop's independent operations, had no knowledge of Mr G's registration, and correctly applied Card Scheme rules. The ombudsman also found service issues regarding dropped calls were adequately addressed through callback attempts. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that NatWest could not be held responsible for GamStop's independent operations or Mr G's failure to register his account with them. The relevant Card Scheme rules specifically exclude gambling transactions from chargeback protection, so NatWest was correct to refuse a chargeback request. NatWest had no visibility of Mr G's GamStop registration and he had not requested a gambling block on his account. The transactions were not unusual enough to warrant intervention. Service issues regarding dropped calls were adequately addressed through attempted callbacks.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website