Not upheld: Card / payment disputes complaint against Zopa Bank Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr M claimed he lost his Zopa debit card on 26 October 2025 when his phone was temporarily out of his possession at a restaurant, and disputed a £260 payment made on 4 November 2025 as unauthorised. Zopa refused to refund the payment. The ombudsman found Mr M's account implausible because he made two ATM withdrawals using the card and PIN on 27 October 2025 (which he did not dispute), contradicting his claim the card was lost since 26 October. Additionally, the disputed transaction occurred shortly after a £200 credit was paid in, suggesting the person making the payment knew about this credit, which would be impossible for an unauthorised third party without account access. The ombudsman concluded the payment was authorised and declined to uphold the complaint.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Mr M's account of events was inconsistent with the evidence. Most significantly, if Mr M's card had been out of his possession since 26 October 2025, he could not have made the ATM withdrawals on 27 October 2025 using his card and PIN, which he did not dispute making. The ombudsman also found it implausible that an unauthorised third party could have known about the £200 credit paid into the account and timed the disputed transaction accordingly, as they would have had no ongoing access to Mr M's account. The ombudsman concluded the payment was authorised by Mr M and that Zopa was not obliged to raise a chargeback as the payment was chip and PIN authorised and goods were provided.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website