Not upheld: chargeback handling and complaint mishandling complaint against Bank of Scotland plc (trading as Halifax)

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs K booked flights for £1,039.98 through platform P but decided not to travel after learning the outbound flight was delayed, risking a missed connection. P refunded £377.66 but declined the remainder. Halifax raised chargebacks for the disputed amounts and initially credited £1,130.98 to Mrs K's account, including an administration error of £564.99. When P defended the £474.99 chargeback, Halifax decided not to proceed, concluding Visa would unlikely rule in Mrs K's favour since she chose not to travel. The ombudsman upheld Halifax's decision as fair and in accordance with Visa chargeback scheme rules, and found the £300 compensation for service delays to be reasonable.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman concluded that Halifax acted fairly and in accordance with Visa chargeback scheme rules when deciding not to proceed with the defended £474.99 chargeback. Since Mrs K chose not to travel, it was reasonable to conclude Visa would unlikely have ruled in her favour on final arbitration. Although Halifax made an administration error by crediting £564.99 (which they were entitled to recover), they chose not to do so, meaning Mrs K benefitted from the error by receiving £91 more than she was entitled to. The £300 compensation for acknowledged delays and poor service was fair and reasonable.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website