Not upheld: Card / payment disputes complaint against Barclays Bank UK PLC (trading as Barclaycard)

Decision detail

Summary

Miss E purchased three concert tickets through ticketing website X in September 2025 but was unable to re-sell them when she attempted to do so in September 2025. She raised disputes with Barclaycard seeking a refund, claiming the tickets were not as described because re-sale was not available. Barclaycard initially declined the claim but later refunded £176.40 (two of the three tickets) acknowledging communication failures. Miss E complained that Barclaycard should have refunded all three tickets, particularly the £173.10 VIP ticket, and that the re-sale service should have been made clearer at purchase. The ombudsman found Barclaycard's handling of both the chargeback and Section 75 claim was fair, as the merchant would have successfully defended the dispute and re-sale was not a guaranteed service but conditional on promoter and ticket type, with these restrictions clearly documented in the purchase agreement and FAQs.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Barclaycard reasonably handled the chargeback by considering the 'Not as Described' reason code, as the merchant would likely have successfully defended the dispute by proving tickets were delivered as described. Under Section 75, only the £173.10 VIP ticket met the financial threshold for a claim. The ombudsman concluded no breach of contract occurred because Miss E received the tickets she paid for, and re-sale was not a guaranteed service but rather conditional on promoter and ticket type. The purchase agreement and FAQs adequately qualified re-sale circumstances, so no misrepresentation was found. Barclaycard's £176.40 refund was deemed fair compensation for poor communication during the dispute handling process.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website