Not upheld: Card / payment disputes complaint against National Westminster Bank Public Limited Company (NatWest)

Decision detail

Summary

Mr C complained that NatWest refused to process a Direct Debit Guarantee indemnity claim for payments made to a car finance provider between March 2020 and September 2021. Mr C initially sought the claim based on a Supreme Court ruling regarding car finance commissions, claiming the agreement was mis-sold. Later, he claimed wrong amounts and dates were used, citing 1p monthly fluctuations and an expected £210 versus actual £228.95 payments. The ombudsman found NatWest's refusal was reasonable because the Direct Debit Guarantee scheme covers only specific payment errors, not contractual disputes, and Mr C's claims lacked supporting evidence and were contradicted by the finance provider's disclosure regarding payment variations.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The Direct Debit Guarantee scheme is designed to protect against specific payment errors (wrong amount or wrong date), not contractual disputes with billers. Mr C's initial request was explicitly based on a contractual dispute regarding mis-sale of the finance agreement, which falls outside the scheme's scope. His subsequent claims of payment errors lack supporting evidence and are contradicted by the finance provider's disclosure that payments may vary due to rounding. Given the historic nature of the payments (several years elapsed) and the absence of contemporaneous complaints, it was reasonable for NatWest to request sufficient information before raising a claim. The ombudsman concluded NatWest had reasonable grounds to refuse the claim.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website