Not upheld: Card / payment disputes complaint against MONZO BANK LIMITED

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs D booked flights through online travel agent W and received a credit voucher when one passenger cancelled. When reissuing the ticket, W charged an additional £424 for fare/tax differences and an airline change fee but refused to provide supporting documentation. Mrs D requested Monzo raise a chargeback, but Monzo declined citing insufficient evidence the charge was incorrect. The ombudsman upheld Monzo's decision, finding that the dispute did not meet Mastercard scheme rules for a valid chargeback claim since Mrs D had authorised the payment with knowledge of the additional costs and the dispute involved merchant pricing justification rather than non-receipt of services or breach of agreed terms. The ombudsman rejected Mrs D's argument that Monzo should have attempted a chargeback to compel W to provide evidence, as the chargeback process is not designed for that purpose.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman determined that while Mrs D was unhappy with W's actions and lack of supporting documentation, the chargeback process is designed to operate strictly according to card scheme rules rather than to determine merchant pricing fairness. Since Mrs D had authorised the payment with knowledge of the nature of the additional costs, and the dispute did not involve non-receipt of services or a clear breach of agreed terms, there was no applicable Mastercard dispute condition that would have supported a chargeback with reasonable prospect of success. The ombudsman rejected the argument that Monzo should have attempted a chargeback in hope that W would then provide further evidence, as this is not the intended purpose of the chargeback process.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website