Upheld: gambling block failure and inadequate customer service complaint against Nationwide Building Society

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs H complained that NBS failed to properly support her gambling addiction by not stopping transactions to merchant X despite her explicit request and disclosure of vulnerability. Although NBS had applied a gambling block in April 2025, it did not catch merchant X because the merchant did not identify as a gambling provider via its Merchant Category Code. After Mrs H contacted NBS in December 2025, the firm took over a month to apply an alternative block that successfully stopped the transactions. The ombudsman upheld the complaint and awarded £200 compensation for communication failures and delays, but rejected the refund claim because evidence showed Mrs H would have continued gambling with other merchants even if the block had been applied earlier.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that while NBS's communication and responsiveness were deficient, causing distress and delay, the firm was not required to refund the gambling transactions because: (1) merchant X did not identify as a gambling merchant via MCC, so the initial block could not have caught it; (2) even if NBS had applied the successful block earlier, Mrs H would likely have continued gambling with other similar merchants, as evidenced by her continued use of other sites after the block was applied; and (3) NBS did make reasonable efforts to support Mrs H by offering multiple block options and eventually applying an exceptional solution. The compensation of £200 was deemed fair and reasonable for the communication failures and delay in applying the effective block.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website