Not upheld: unfair refusal of chargeback and Section 75 claim complaint against National Westminster Bank Public Limited Company (NatWest)

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs O purchased flight tickets through travel intermediary F using her NatWest credit card, but the booking was placed in her husband's name. When government travel restrictions prevented her from flying, F refused to provide a refund and instead offered rebooking at additional cost. Mrs O requested both a chargeback and Section 75 claim from NatWest, both of which were refused. The ombudsman upheld NatWest's decision, finding that chargeback rights did not exist because F provided the service it was contracted to provide (booking the flights), and Section 75 protection did not apply because the contract was with Mr O rather than Mrs O, and F had not breached its contractual obligations.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that NatWest acted fairly in refusing both the chargeback and Section 75 claim. For chargeback, the 'Goods/services not received' reason code did not apply because the service was available and F fulfilled its obligation to book the flights. For Section 75, the ombudsman was not persuaded a valid debtor-creditor-supplier agreement existed because the contract was with Mr O, not Mrs O. Additionally, even if such an agreement existed, there was no breach of contract or misrepresentation by F, as F fulfilled its contractual obligation to book the flights and the inability to travel resulted from government restrictions outside F's control, not F's failure to perform.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website