Not upheld: Card / payment disputes complaint against Revolut Ltd

Decision detail

Summary

Mr M purchased three faulty laptops from an online retailer using his Revolut debit card. When the retailer closed his account, preventing him from returning the items, he raised a chargeback enquiry with Revolut. Revolut declined the claim within a week, stating it had no reasonable prospect of success. Mr M complained that Revolut treated his claim unfairly and used the wrong reason code. The ombudsman found that Revolut handled the enquiry within a reasonable timeframe and used an appropriate reason code. Critically, the ombudsman determined that Mr M failed to provide evidence that he was actually denied the opportunity to return the laptops, as alternative contact methods and return processes were available without an active account. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that while Mr M's dispute was fundamentally about goods being defective or not as described, Revolut's use of the 'not received goods' reason code was not incorrect as it was internal wording and Revolut's records clearly documented the actual dispute. Revolut handled the enquiry within a reasonable timeframe. Critically, Mr M failed to provide evidence that he was actually denied the opportunity to return the laptops. The account closure did not prevent alternative contact methods (phone, email) or alternative return methods. Mr M did not exhaust reasonably available channels to resolve the matter with the retailer before the chargeback was declined. Therefore, Revolut's decision to decline the claim was fair as the evidence did not support a reasonable prospect of success.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website