Not upheld: Card / payment disputes complaint against Bank of Scotland plc trading as Halifax

Decision detail

Summary

Miss C purchased a hotel treatment for £82 using her Halifax credit card but claimed the therapist who attended was unqualified and the service was not provided. Halifax raised a chargeback which the hotel defended, arguing the service was available and the therapist was qualified. Halifax accepted this defence and did not pursue further representations. The ombudsman found that the evidence did not support Miss C's claims about the therapist's qualifications, the hotel had attempted to resolve the matter by offering alternatives, and there was no reasonable prospect of a successful chargeback. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Halifax faced a situation where two parties presented conflicting accounts. The evidence did not support Miss C's claim that the therapist was unqualified to perform the treatment, as the hotel disputed this and provided evidence of therapist qualifications and positive feedback. The hotel appeared to have attempted to resolve the matter by offering alternative solutions. Under the chargeback reason codes considered (services not provided, services not as described or defective, and refund not processed), there was no reasonable prospect of success because the evidence did not demonstrate the service was unavailable or that the therapist could not perform the treatment. Additionally, the purchase amount fell below the £100 threshold required for Section 75 protection.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website