Not upheld: chargeback refusal and customer service failure complaint against Nationwide Building Society

Decision detail

Summary

Mr K purchased a faulty used car for £7,300 using his Nationwide debit card in June 2025. After discovering multiple mechanical faults and obtaining a repair quote of approximately £2,000, he requested the merchant refund or collect the car. When the merchant stopped responding and subsequently ceased trading, Mr K asked Nationwide to raise a chargeback. Nationwide declined, citing a requirement to return the goods, and only provided this explanation after Mr K made 18 calls. The Ombudsman found that while Nationwide could have attempted a chargeback given the merchant's non-response, there was insufficient evidence for success, and upheld only the £75 compensation for poor customer service.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

While Nationwide may have been reasonable to attempt a chargeback given the merchant's non-response, there was insufficient evidence for the claim to have a reasonable prospect of success. Mr K provided only a repair quote without explanation of the faults' cause, lacked the original advertisement to show whether faults were disclosed, and provided no evidence the car was defective at point of sale rather than damaged subsequently. The card scheme rules require specific evidence that the car was not as described or defective when supplied. The Trading Standards prosecution occurred after the 120-day chargeback time limit had expired. Nationwide's failure to provide timely updates was appropriately remedied by the £75 compensation.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website