Upheld: failure to provide safeguarding support for gambling vulnerability; limitations of gambling block controls complaint against National Westminster Bank PLC

Decision detail

Summary

Mr E complained that NW allowed over £85,000 in gambling transactions despite him applying a gambling block to his debit card. NW explained that the block only applies to regulated UK gambling merchants and cannot prevent transactions via faster payments or to unregulated sites using different merchant codes. The ombudsman found that while NW was not responsible for transactions outside the block's technical scope, it should have offered support when Mr E disclosed gambling activity on 7 July 2025. However, the ombudsman concluded Mr E would likely have declined the available support options and therefore upheld the complaint only to the extent of ordering £200 compensation for the missed opportunity to offer support, rather than compensation for the full losses incurred.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that while NW could not be held responsible for transactions that bypassed the gambling block due to technical limitations (different payment methods and unregulated merchant codes), NW should have offered support when Mr E disclosed gambling activity on 7 July 2025. However, the ombudsman concluded that Mr E would likely have declined the support options (disabling online banking) at that time, as he did when offered the same option on 4 September 2025, and therefore the failure to offer support did not cause additional financial loss.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website