Not upheld: dispute handling, chargeback and Section 75 claim handling, account closure complaint against JAJA FINANCE LTD (trading as Asda Money Credit Card)

Decision detail

Summary

Mr W complained that JAJA unfairly handled his disputes regarding gambling transactions made on his credit card account, which should have been blocked under the card's restrictions. JAJA blocked and subsequently closed the account, leaving an outstanding balance of approximately £2,400. The ombudsman found that JAJA acted fairly in not pursuing chargebacks because Mr W's disputes were submitted more than 75 calendar days after the transactions, exceeding strict card scheme time limits. Section 75 claims were unlikely to succeed as Mr W did not dispute making the transactions and provided no evidence of misrepresentation or breach of contract. The account closure was justified under the terms and conditions as Mr W had breached the prohibition on gambling transactions. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that JAJA acted fairly in not pursuing chargebacks because the disputes were submitted more than 75 calendar days after the transactions, exceeding the strict time limits under card scheme rules. Section 75 claims were unlikely to succeed as Mr W did not dispute making the transactions, provided no evidence of misrepresentation or breach of contract, and many transactions fell outside the required financial limits. The account closure was justified under the terms and conditions as Mr W had breached the prohibition on gambling transactions. JAJA had no obligation to provide special support for vulnerabilities that were not disclosed until after the breaches occurred.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website