Not upheld: Card / payment disputes complaint against Royal Bank of Scotland Plc

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs K sought a refund from RBS for a hotel stay in Portugal where she lost electricity and water due to a national power outage lasting approximately 11 hours. The hotel declined to provide any refund, stating the outage was a nationwide issue beyond its control. RBS considered the dispute under both chargeback and Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 but declined to refund. The ombudsman upheld RBS's decision, finding that while Mrs K suffered loss, the power outage was a well-documented force majeure event caused by complex technical factors in the Spanish electrical grid, for which neither the hotel nor RBS could be held responsible. The hotel's terms and conditions included a force majeure clause, and no misrepresentation or breach of contract was established.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied a two-limb test: whether Mrs K suffered loss and whether RBS was responsible for that loss. While Mrs K clearly suffered loss of amenities, the ombudsman found no evidence that the hotel, booking service, or RBS caused the power outage. The hotel's terms and conditions included a force majeure clause excluding liability for events reasonably beyond its control. No misrepresentation occurred as the hotel did not guarantee amenities in all circumstances, and the representation was true when made. No breach of contract was established given the force majeure clause and the hotel's lack of responsibility for the outage.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website