Not upheld: chargeback claim handling complaint against Clydesdale Bank Plc trading as Virgin Money

Decision detail

Summary

Mr H complained that Virgin Money handled his chargeback claim unfairly after he purchased digital codes that appeared to be already redeemed. Virgin Money had raised a chargeback under the 'Goods or Services Not Provided' Mastercard code, but the merchant challenged it with evidence showing the codes were redeemed on the same day of purchase. The ombudsman found that while Mr H believed his evidence supported his position, it did not demonstrate that the merchant's redemption evidence was incorrect or unreliable. Therefore, the ombudsman concluded Virgin Money reasonably declined to pursue the chargeback further and did not uphold the complaint.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman considered whether Virgin Money acted fairly in handling the chargeback claim under the 'Goods or Services Not Provided' Mastercard chargeback code. While chargeback is good practice where there are reasonable grounds for success, it is not guaranteed to succeed and is governed by card scheme rules. The merchant provided evidence that the codes were redeemed on the same day of purchase. To successfully challenge this, Virgin Money would have needed evidence demonstrating the merchant's redemption information was wrong or unreliable. Mr H's evidence, while he believed it supported his position, did not demonstrate that the merchant's redemption evidence was incorrect. Therefore, Virgin Money reasonably concluded there was no realistic prospect of successfully pursuing the chargeback further.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website