Not upheld: failure to offer chargeback protection and support for underage gambling complaint against National Westminster Bank Public Limited Company (NatWest)

Decision detail

Summary

Mr T complained that NatWest failed to request chargebacks for gambling transactions he made while underage and failed to provide support when he began accessing an online bingo website illegally. NatWest declined the chargeback requests and stated the transactions were categorised as gaming rather than gambling. The ombudsman found no grounds for chargebacks under the scheme as Mr T received the services he paid for and made authorised transactions. Additionally, the merchant's use of an incorrect categorisation code (video games instead of gambling) meant NatWest's algorithms could not identify the activity as gambling, so the bank had no reason to suspect illegal activity or contact Mr T. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that chargeback protection does not apply to underage gambling access as the transactions were authorised, goods/services were received as described, and no fraud or misrepresentation occurred. Additionally, NatWest could not have identified the transactions as gambling because the merchant used an incorrect categorisation code (video games instead of gambling), meaning automated algorithms would not flag the activity. Without knowledge of illegal gambling activity, NatWest had no obligation to proactively contact Mr T or provide support.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website