Not upheld: disputed payments and refusal to provide account information complaint against Santander UK Plc

Decision detail

Summary

Mr P complained that Santander refused to refund disputed payments from 2014-2015 to an online payment institution (G) and refused to provide card numbers for ATM withdrawals to help identify further disputed transactions. The ombudsman found the refund complaint was out of time, as Mr P was reasonably aware of the dispute in 2015 when he made chargebacks and received a partial refund, meaning the three-year complaint window had expired by 2024. The ombudsman also rejected the request for ATM card details, finding that Santander cannot be compelled to provide information it is unable to access. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The complaint about outstanding payments to G is out of time under FOS jurisdiction rules. Mr P was reasonably aware of issues with payments to G in 2015 when he made chargebacks, meaning the three-year time limit for complaint began then, not in 2024. Missing paper statements due to work commitments does not constitute exceptional circumstances. Regarding ATM card details, the ombudsman cannot compel Santander to provide information it is unable to provide, and Santander has demonstrated it cannot access this historical data.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website