- 1Read
- 2Ask
- 3Decide
- 4Ruling
Case 5 of 19 · Level 1
Card payment · a chargeback
Two drinks or two bottles
The file · about 5 minutes
The complaint
On holiday, the customer spent several hours at a club and says they ordered just two gin and tonics, expecting to pay €14. The next day their account showed a charge from the club of over €1,400. They want their bank to return the money.
The firm's answer
The bank says it is satisfied the payment was properly made, and it will not refund it.
Evidence in the file
Exhibit A · The statement
A payment of over €1,400 to the club.
Exhibit B · The customer's account
They used their card and PIN at the club, but say they only agreed to pay €14 for two drinks.
The club's receipt
The receipt is for two bottles of champagne at €700 each.
The bank's chargeback record
The bank raised a chargeback straight away when the payment was reported, and put the money back while it looked into it. When the club sent proof of a chip and PIN payment, the bank took the money back again.
What the card machine showed
Not in the file. Nothing shows what amount the card machine displayed when the PIN was entered.
Uphold the complaint, or side with the firm?
The ruling
Given by the ombudsman
Not upheld
Why
The receipt showed two bottles of champagne at €700 each. The customer's statements showed heavy spending on drinks at other clubs that same day, and nothing backed up their claim that others had bought their drinks. Entering the PIN authorised the payment, and on balance the customer had bought the champagne. The bank had handled the chargeback properly.
What the firm had to do
Nothing. The bank did not have to refund the payment.
What an adjudicator takes from this. A disputed payment turns on what was authorised. Ask for the itemised receipt before weighing anyone's memory of the night.
Rewritten in our own words from a case the ombudsman published.
Read the guide: Chargeback or Section 75: which one to use, and when
What is fair and reasonable is a judgement. The ombudsman gives one; people who read the same file often give another, and this game is about how people weigh the same facts, not about being right. Built from cases the Financial Ombudsman Service and other bodies have published, and from Docketory's own files, rewritten in our own words with every name removed. Docketory is not connected with any of them, and this game is not advice on your own case.
Got a parking ticket? Check it free.
Check your ticket free