Not upheld: Card / payment disputes complaint against Lloyds Bank PLC

Decision detail

Summary

Mr A disputed a £1,500 transaction on his Lloyds credit card made on 31 December 2025, claiming he did not authorise it. Lloyds refused to refund the transaction, noting it was made using Mr A's card details and approved via an OTP sent to his registered phone number. The ombudsman found that the transaction required access to Mr A's device to view card details in the mobile banking app and retrieve the OTP, and given Mr A's credible assertion that no one else had access to his biometrically-protected device or mobile banking credentials, there was no plausible explanation for unauthorised access. The complaint was not upheld, and the ombudsman found Lloyds entitled to hold Mr A liable for the transaction.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that the transaction required access to Mr A's device to obtain card details from the mobile banking app and to retrieve the OTP sent to his phone number. Given Mr A's unchallenged assertion that no one else had access to his device, which is protected by biometrics and passcode, and that he never disclosed his mobile banking login details, there was no plausible explanation for how someone else could have made the transaction. The sequential timing of the mobile banking login (4.08am) and transaction (4.09am) from the same device, combined with the OTP requirement, indicated Mr A's involvement in authorising the payment.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website