Not upheld: CPA dispute and refund request - time limit application complaint against HSBC UK Bank Plc trading as first direct

Decision detail

Summary

Mr R complained that First Direct refused to refund nine monthly payments collected via CPA by Company C after a trial period ended. Mr R claimed he did not authorise the CPA and asked First Direct to dispute the charges. First Direct declined, citing the 120-day time limit under the MasterCard dispute resolution scheme, as Mr R's request came more than nine months after the last payment. The Ombudsman found First Direct acted reasonably in applying the time limit and noted that Mr R's removal of Company C's app prevented him from receiving renewal notifications. The complaint was not upheld, though First Direct acknowledged Mr R's ADHD diagnosis and implemented account monitoring for future protection.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The Ombudsman found that Mr R gave Company C a standing authority by providing card details, which permitted payments after the trial period. Although Mr R's removal of the app impacted visibility of charges, this did not make First Direct responsible for the losses. Critically, Mr R contacted First Direct on 27 September 2025, more than 120 days after the last payment on 13 January 2025, exceeding the MasterCard dispute resolution scheme's time limit. First Direct acted reasonably in applying this time limit. Additionally, even if the time limit did not apply, the chargeback would likely have been defended based on Company C's communications confirming the payments were correctly charged.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website