Not upheld: Card / payment disputes complaint against Monzo Bank Ltd

Decision detail

Summary

Mr K purchased meals through an online food delivery service using his Monzo debit card and complained that they arrived cold and did not appear fresh. When the delivery service refused compensation, he asked Monzo to raise a chargeback. Monzo refused, stating they could not verify the food temperature and that Mastercard's chargeback rules required objective proof of a contractual breach. The ombudsman upheld Monzo's decision, finding that while chargebacks are good practice when there is a reasonable chance of success, the strict criteria of the chargeback scheme require objective evidence rather than subjective customer complaints, and Mr K's account alone was insufficient to meet these requirements.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman concluded that while chargebacks are good practice when there is a reasonable chance of success, the chargeback scheme has strict criteria set by Mastercard, not Monzo. To support a chargeback under the 'goods or services not as described or defective' category, objective evidence of defect would be required. Mr K's subjective account that the food was not hot and did not appear fresh, without corroborating evidence such as temperature measurement, is insufficient to meet the strict criteria. The ombudsman acknowledged Mr K's point that it is unrealistic to expect customers to measure food temperature, but noted that the chargeback scheme's strict criteria are not set by Monzo and a customer's subjective view alone is unlikely to succeed.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website