Upheld: failure to raise chargeback / service not provided complaint against Optimus Cards UK Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr T paid for return airport transfers in France but his return flight was cancelled due to industrial action (strikes). The transfer company J refused to reschedule or refund, offering only a 10% discount on a new booking. Optimus Cards declined to raise a chargeback, citing the merchant's no-refund policy. The Ombudsman found that J's terms included a Force Majeure clause providing full refunds for cancellations due to strikes, which applied to Mr T's situation. Optimus Cards should have raised a chargeback with a good prospect of success but failed to do so due to incomplete review of the merchant's terms. The Ombudsman upheld the complaint and ordered Optimus Cards to refund 50% of the transaction with interest.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The Ombudsman found that J effectively cancelled Mr T's contracted service by refusing to reschedule it to his new flight date and only offering a new booking at full price with a discount. The airline's cancellation due to industrial action (strikes) triggered J's own Force Majeure terms, which explicitly provided for full refunds when services are cancelled due to strikes and other unforeseen external circumstances. Optimus Cards failed to review J's complete terms and conditions and therefore did not recognize that Mr T had a strong chargeback claim under the 'Refund not Processed' code. The Ombudsman concluded there was a good prospect of the chargeback succeeding and that Optimus Cards should have raised it.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website