Not upheld: chargeback handling and service delivery complaint against HSBC UK Bank Plc

Decision detail

Summary

Mr W complained to the FOS about HSBC's handling of a chargeback claim for £470 (the remaining balance after receiving a partial refund of £1,530 from an online trading platform where he paid £2,000). HSBC initially closed the chargeback claim but offered to reopen it if Mr W provided supporting evidence on a chargeback form; Mr W initially refused, later asked for the form to be emailed, but did not follow up or provide evidence. Mr W also complained about difficulties receiving a secure passkey to access his online banking account, which HSBC said it had sent to his registered address and offered to have collected from a branch. The ombudsman found HSBC did not treat Mr W unfairly, as it correctly required supporting evidence per Visa's rules and offered a pragmatic alternative for the passkey issue.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that HSBC was not obliged to progress the chargeback without supporting evidence in line with Visa's rules. While Mr W initially refused to provide further evidence and later asked for the form to be emailed, the call recording showed he remained unwilling to complete it or provide additional information. The ombudsman noted that Mr W did not chase the form if it was not received and provided no supporting evidence during the complaint process. Regarding the secure passkey, HSBC offered a pragmatic alternative by allowing Mr W to collect it from a branch, and the ombudsman could not direct HSBC to change its internal processes such as sending items by recorded delivery. The ombudsman found the advisors treated Mr W with patience and attempted to help him.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website