Not upheld: misleading promotional offer complaint against American Express Services Europe Limited (trading as American Express)

Decision detail

Summary

Mr C complained about a promotional offer from American Express offering £5 cashback for spending £50 or more at participating Shell petrol stations. He saved the offer on 19 December 2025 and clicked a link that directed him to the Shell website, where he could not identify which stations were participating. After contacting AESEL on 21 December 2025, an agent provided clarification that his desired station was not participating and gave him details of some that were. Mr C subsequently purchased fuel at two non-participating stations and sought £10 compensation, claiming the promotional offer was misleading. The ombudsman did not uphold the complaint, finding that the offer wording was not misleading and that Mr C was aware the stations he used were not participating when he made his purchases.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that the wording of the promotional offer itself did not state that clicking the link would take customers to a list of participating stations only. While the Shell website may not have clearly indicated which stations were participating, this was not misleading wording in the promotion itself. Mr C received clarification from AESEL's agent before making his purchases at non-participating stations, so he was aware those stations were not eligible for the offer when he used them.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website