Not upheld: unauthorised transaction dispute complaint against National Westminster Bank Public Limited Company (NatWest)

Decision detail

Summary

Mr P disputed a £579.03 online accommodation booking charge, claiming he did not authorise it because he believed payment would be taken upon arrival rather than immediately. NatWest refused to refund the transaction, and the FOS investigator agreed. The ombudsman upheld NatWest's position, finding that Mr P had authorised the payment by completing the standard online payment procedure with correct card details, and that under the Payment Service Regulations 2017, consent is an objective test independent of the consumer's subjective expectations about timing. The ombudsman also found NatWest acted reasonably in not pursuing a chargeback, given the booking's non-refundable terms made success unlikely under the chargeback scheme rules.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

Under the Payment Service Regulations 2017, consent for online payments is an objective test that does not depend on the consumer being fully aware of payment details or timing. The agreed procedure for online payment consent is simply entering correct card details. Mr P completed this procedure, and the payment was correctly authenticated. The fact that Mr P expected payment to be taken later, or that he subsequently cancelled the booking, does not make the transaction unauthorised. Regarding chargeback, NatWest acted reasonably in not pursuing it as the booking's non-refundable terms meant there were no reasonable prospects of success under the chargeback scheme rules.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website