Not upheld: payment processing error and card blocking complaint against ClearBank Limited (trading as Tide)

Decision detail

Summary

B Ltd, represented by Mr T, complained that Tide incorrectly processed card payments causing a £286.48 loss when a hotel booking appeared to fail but was actually processed. Mr T claimed multiple payment attempts within seconds indicated a Tide system glitch, but Tide blamed the merchant and Mr T's own actions. The ombudsman reviewed payment logs showing transactions at different times with separate references, inconsistent with a platform glitch, and noted the attempts could result from page refreshes or repeated clicks, especially given Mr T's admission of entering incorrect expiry dates. Without conclusive technical evidence of platform failure and given the reasonable security rationale for the 24-hour card block following repeated incorrect entries, the complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman concluded that while multiple payment attempts occurred, the evidence does not definitively prove Tide's platform caused them. The transactions had different timestamps and separate references, inconsistent with a platform glitch. The attempts could reasonably result from page refreshes or repeated button clicks, particularly given Mr T's admission of entering incorrect details. Without technical capacity to assess Tide's software and lacking conclusive evidence of platform failure, the ombudsman could not fairly require compensation. The 24-hour card block was a reasonable security precaution following repeated incorrect detail entries.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website