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

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs W complained that Halifax treated her unfairly when a direct debit payment of £258.80 was taken from her account instead of the £250 she believed was due, putting her into an unarranged overdraft. Halifax initially issued a conditional refund under the Direct Debit Guarantee but redebited the payment after the energy supplier provided a letter showing Mrs W had been notified in advance of the £258.80 amount. Mrs W argued Halifax should have investigated further and considered her vulnerable circumstances. The ombudsman did not uphold the complaint, finding that Halifax correctly followed the Direct Debit Guarantee process and was not required to investigate the merits of the dispute once the energy supplier provided evidence of prior notification.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Halifax correctly followed the Direct Debit Guarantee process. Under this process, once a payment is disputed, the originator (energy supplier) must provide evidence that the consumer was notified in advance of the correct payment amount. The energy supplier's letter dated 25 September 2025 was sufficient evidence that Mrs W had been notified of the £258.80 payment. Halifax was not required to investigate further or consider Mrs W's conflicting email evidence. While the ombudsman acknowledged Mrs W's vulnerable circumstances and financial hardship, these were matters between Mrs W and the energy supplier, not Halifax's responsibility. Halifax had also offered support and provided information about debt advice services.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website