Not upheld: Cifas fraud marker registration; fraudulent chargeback claims complaint against NewDay Ltd trading as Aqua

Decision detail

Summary

Mr A complained that NewDay Ltd trading as Aqua had wrongfully registered a Cifas fraud marker against him for misuse of facility following 19 chargeback requests on a credit card account opened in his name. Mr A denied operating the account or making the chargebacks, claiming his brother opened it without his knowledge. The ombudsman found that Mr A's account contact details (email, mobile, address) matched those he provided, his explanations were inconsistent and implausible, and the pattern of chargebacks—particularly 11 in April with highly questionable claims such as in-store purchases marked as not received—demonstrated deliberate fraudulent conduct. The ombudsman concluded that NewDay had met the evidential threshold for registering the Cifas marker and did not uphold the complaint.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Mr A's inconsistent explanations, combined with the fact that all account contact details matched his own details, made it more likely than not that he owned and operated the account. The volume and nature of the chargebacks (11 in April alone, with highly implausible claims such as in-store purchases marked as not received and items claimed as not received despite delivery to his address) demonstrated a deliberate pattern of fraudulent conduct rather than honest mistakes. The fact that Mr A did not raise concerns about the account or chargebacks when NewDay contacted him further supported this conclusion. Therefore, NewDay had clear, relevant and rigorous evidence to meet the Cifas threshold for registering a fraud marker.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website