Not upheld: transaction processing, disputed transactions, branch service quality complaint against Nationwide Building Society

Decision detail

Summary

Ms R complained that Nationwide Building Society allowed duplicate transaction attempts that caused financial hardship and provided conflicting information at a branch. The core issues involved a disputed rail ticket transaction where Nationwide applied a temporary refund pending chargeback, then reversed it when the transaction was confirmed as correct, and a declined payment due to insufficient funds caused by merchant processing delays. The ombudsman found Nationwide's handling of both matters was fair and reasonable, that the declined payment was correctly declined as the account had no overdraft facility, and that while the branch interaction could not be verified, there was no evidence of unfair treatment. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Nationwide acted reasonably in applying a temporary refund while investigating the disputed transaction, and was equally reasonable in reversing it once the transaction was confirmed as legitimate. The declined payment was due to insufficient funds in an account with no overdraft facility, which was a correct decision by Nationwide. The branch interaction could not be verified due to lack of digital records, but the ombudsman found it likely the branch provided information based on available balance at that time, with later merchant transactions affecting available funds. Nationwide's suggestion that Ms R access specialist support for vulnerable consumers was appropriate.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website