Not upheld: chargeback dispute - failure to pursue recovery complaint against Bank of Scotland plc (trading as Halifax)

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs M purchased a £14,995 online training course but requested cancellation and refund after developing medical issues. The supplier T refused to refund, offering only to delay the course. Mrs M asked Halifax to recover the money via chargeback, but Halifax declined, stating the dispute was raised outside the Visa card scheme's 120-day timeframe. The Ombudsman upheld Halifax's decision, finding that chargebacks are governed solely by card scheme rules, not national law or fairness considerations. Even if Mrs M had raised the dispute in time, the Ombudsman concluded the chargeback would have had poor prospects of success given T's contractual defences, including Mrs M's access to course materials and her agreement to a waiver. The complaint was not upheld and no remedy was ordered.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The Ombudsman emphasised that chargebacks are decided exclusively by card scheme rules (Visa), not by the bank, the FOS, or national law. Mrs M raised her dispute outside the strict 120-day timeframe required by Visa rules under either potential dispute reason ('cancelled services' or 'misrepresentation'). Even if the dispute had been raised in time, the Ombudsman found it would have had poor prospects of success because T had documented contractual grounds for refusing a refund, including Mrs M's access to course materials, her agreement to a waiver, and T's offer to delay participation. The Ombudsman concluded that T would likely have successfully defended any chargeback attempt, and therefore Halifax acted reasonably in declining to pursue it.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website