Not upheld: Goods and services under S75 complaint against American Express Services Europe Limited (AESEL)

Decision detail

Summary

Mr M purchased a watch for £559.98 using an AESEL credit card in December 2023. He claimed the ECG functionality stopped working within six months and made a Section 75 claim for breach of contract based on unsatisfactory quality. AESEL declined the claim. The ombudsman found that while an October 2025 examination confirmed a fault existed, the evidence did not establish that this fault resulted from an inherent defect present at purchase, placing the burden on Mr M to prove breach of contract. The complaint was not upheld as AESEL's decision to decline the claim was reasonable on the available evidence.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that while the October 2025 report demonstrated a fault existed at that time, it did not establish that the fault resulted from an inherent defect present when the watch was supplied nearly two years earlier. The ombudsman rejected the argument that the burden should shift to AESEL simply because only the manufacturer could perform diagnostics, noting that Mr M bore the burden of proving on balance that there was a breach of contract. No evidence of misrepresentation by the supplier was found. Therefore, AESEL's decision to decline the claim was reasonable.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website