Not upheld: fraud marker loading / false reporting of loss complaint against NewDay Ltd (trading as John Lewis Partnership Card)

Decision detail

Summary

Mr B complained that NewDay Ltd unfairly loaded a negative fraud marker against him on the National Fraud Database after he disputed a £1,473.54 transaction made on 26 July 2024. Mr B initially claimed he did not recognise the transaction and had not made the purchase, but later accepted he had authorised it for a racecourse event, arguing he did not recognise the merchant name S and that NewDay should have clarified the payment details. NewDay rejected his claim, noting it was his third disputed transaction claim in 15 months, all involving online tickets and claims of a lost or stolen phone. The ombudsman found that Mr B's initial statement clearly indicated he was falsely reporting the transaction as unauthorised, and that despite his later explanations, he likely knew what the payment was for. The ombudsman upheld NewDay's decision to load the fraud marker, finding they had sufficient evidence to reasonably believe Mr B had attempted to commit fraud.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Mr B clearly stated during the phone call that the transaction was not his and he had not made the purchase, constituting a false report of loss. Although Mr B later claimed he did not recognise the merchant name S, the ombudsman found it implausible that Mr B would not have realised the payment related to the racecourse event C, particularly given he received an email from C about the event shortly before disputing the transaction, his limited card activity, and his denial of purchasing tickets when directly asked. The pattern of three disputed transaction claims in 15 months, all involving online tickets requiring two-factor authentication and all attributed to a lost or stolen phone, raised serious concerns. While the device ID evidence was not conclusive, the ombudsman concluded NewDay had sufficient evidence to reasonably believe Mr B had attempted to commit fraud by falsely reporting a loss.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website