Not upheld: unfair charges - cash handling fees complaint against Creation Financial Services Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr G complained about cash handling fees charged by Creation Financial Services Limited on his credit card account for transferring money to friends via PayPal. Two transfers resulted in £5.00 fees each; Creation refunded the first fee as a gesture of goodwill but refused to refund the second. Mr G argued that Creation should have checked for and refunded the second fee when he called on 9 July 2025. The ombudsman found the fees were fairly applied under the account terms and conditions, which explicitly classify person-to-person transfers as cash equivalent transactions. The ombudsman determined that while Creation was not obligated to proactively check the system, Mr G should have mentioned the second transaction if he was aware of it and asked the agent to check. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that the cash handling fees were correctly applied in accordance with the account terms and conditions, which explicitly classify sending money to friends and family as cash equivalent transactions subject to fees. While the ombudsman understood Mr G's perspective that PayPal transfers might seem like regular purchases, credit card issuers generally classify person-to-person transfers as cash advances. The ombudsman determined that Creation was not obligated to proactively check the entire system for other fees when Mr G called; however, had Mr G mentioned the second transaction and asked the agent to check, it would have been reasonable for the agent to do so. Since Mr G did not mention the second transaction, Creation acted fairly in not refunding it.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website