Not upheld: Card / payment disputes complaint against Revolut Ltd

Decision detail

Summary

Miss R purchased three laptops from online retailer X using her Revolut debit card, but received empty packages. Although X initially agreed to refund her, it subsequently closed her account, preventing her from pursuing the refund directly. Miss R then raised a chargeback enquiry with Revolut, which declined the claim within a week, stating it had low prospects of success. The ombudsman found that Revolut handled the enquiry fairly and reasonably, as Miss R failed to provide evidence that X had withdrawn the refund offer, the order was placed through a third party's account, and X would likely have successfully defended the chargeback based on the account closure and alleged breach of terms.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Revolut handled the chargeback enquiry within a reasonable timeframe and used the most relevant code available. The key issue was whether Miss R demonstrated that X had withdrawn the refund offer and failed to pay it. The ombudsman noted that: (1) Miss R did not provide evidence that X had withdrawn the refund confirmation; (2) the order was in a third party's name, meaning X may have processed any refund to that third party; (3) X closed Miss R's account shortly after she reported the issue, citing breach of terms; and (4) X would likely have defended the chargeback based on the account closure and terms violation. Therefore, the ombudsman concluded it was unlikely the chargeback claim would have succeeded, making Revolut's decision to decline it reasonable.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website