Disputing a transaction

Spotted something a little fishy? We're here to help.

Where to start

We understand it can be worrying if you spot some unexpected spending on your account. So to make sure we get you the help you need, here are some initial questions to ask yourself.

1. Dispute or Fraud?

First thing’s first: do you recognise the transaction? And are you confident that you've not been scammed?

If you answered YES to both, you need to raise a dispute.

If you answered NO to either one, it could be fraudulent and you should contact us as soon as you can. Here’s more on fraud and how we can help.

2. Contacted the retailer?

The best place to start is by getting in touch with the retailer named on the transaction, if you haven’t already.

Major retailers like Amazon, Netflix and Apple have their own dispute processes, which could get everything resolved and refunded fast.

3. Payment pending?

If the transaction is still pending, we're unable to raise a dispute until it’s moved to your statement. This can take up to 10 days for debit cards and 32 days for credit cards. Read more about pending transactions.

How to raise a dispute

Simply give us a call and we’ll be happy to help. If the dispute is for the non-receipt of goods, this is something we can help with on Chat via our App or Online Banking.

Before you get in touch, here’s what we’ll need from you. It’s best to gather it all before you pick up the phone.

Details you need to know

debit or credit card details
account details
transaction details.

Proof you need to show

invoice with product/service, cost and date of purchase
letters or emails between you and the company, trade association or administrator
the retailer's purchase or booking T&Cs (not web links)
if there's a fault, we'll need an independent report by an expert.

How long you've got to do it

We know you might not notice an unusual transaction immediately. However, we can typically only look into disputed transactions within 120 days of the date of transaction or when you were due to receive what you paid for.

That’s why it’s always a good idea to review your statements often, to make sure everything is as it should be.

The dispute process

Once we’ve agreed to look into your disputed transaction, here’s what you can expect.

Step 1: We investigate

We try to resolve your dispute as quickly as possible but sometimes we may need to investigate it further.

If we need to speak to the retailer, they have up to 60 days to respond to us so investigating your claim may take longer. Depending on their response, we may also contact you for more information.

Step 2: Temporary credit

While we investigate you could receive either:

temporary credit
or, if we need supporting documents and a declaration from you, temporary credit will be given within 14 days of receiving these.

Step 3: We update you

Keep an eye on the account you raised the dispute on, as if we refund the transaction, it'll show as ‘dispute refund’ or ‘my dispute credit’ on your statement.

We may also call, email or post you updates, so watch out for those too.

FAQs

How can I raise a dispute about an upcoming transaction?

What should I do if I don't recognise a transaction?

If you see a transaction you don't recognise, there are a few things you can check first before giving us a call:

if you recently made a payment in a foreign currency, exchange rates may mean the final cost is different to the amount you paid at the time
some retailers (eg hotels, taxis, airlines, car rentals) can add additional charges, which could make the total amount more than you were expecting
check the retailer’s name on the transaction by entering it into a search engine, as they sometimes trade or charge under different names
check your receipts to see if you have any from the same day and/or for the same amount, but with a different retailer name
check other transactions from the same time, as this may help remind you of where you were when the one you don't recognise was made
if you share the account, ask the other account holder if they recognise the transaction
check if it’s a repeat payment (eg Direct Debit or standing order) you might have set up some time ago or is only charged annually
if you've signed up for a free trial recently, check the T&Cs to see if it’s expired and you’ve started paying for it.

If none of these help you recognise the transaction, please give us a call on 03 456 100 100 and we’ll do everything we can to help.

Does it matter whether I've used a debit or credit card?

There are two ways you can claim a refund on a card: using ‘Chargeback’ or via Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

While a 'Chargeback' can apply to both debit and credit card transactions, the Section 75 option only applies to credit card transactions.

How is a 'Chargeback' and Section 75 different? And which applies to me?

Chargebacks

We may be able to recover money you’ve paid on a card to a retailer if:

you didn’t get what you paid for (including if the company stops trading)
what you paid for is faulty, counterfeit or defective
you’ve been charged the wrong amount (or twice by mistake)
you’re charged for a repeat payment after cancelling a subscription.

For chargebacks it’s worth bearing in mind:

there’s no minimum or maximum payment amount you can claim
unfortunately we can’t guarantee a claim will be successful.

Section 75

If you’ve paid by credit card, you may be able to use Section 75 to get a refund for some or all of the purchase price (also where a chargeback wasn’t possible).

Section 75 will apply if:

all or part of the payment was made on your credit card
the total purchase price is between £100 and £30,000
you have a contract with the supplier eg you paid them directly with your credit card.

If Section 75 applies, we may be equally responsible for your loss, eg if what you paid for isn’t delivered, is faulty or defective, isn’t as described, or has been misrepresented by the supplier.

Section 75 doesn’t apply for:

money transfers made using a credit card
cash withdrawals from a credit card
credit card cheques
goods or services purchased via payment processors such as PayPal
instances where the contract isn’t between you and the supplier.

What you need to do

You should always contact the retailer first to see if they can help resolve the problem.

If they can’t, you have up to 120 days to contact us for a chargeback. And to bring a claim under Section 75, you have 6 years from the date of purchase or when you were due to receive it.

Will transactions outside the UK also be protected?

How can I cancel a subscription or recurring transaction (Amazon, Netflix, Apple, etc)?

To stop a subscription payment, sometimes known as continuous payment authorities or recurring payments, you should contact the merchant directly. If you've tried cancelling but were unsuccessful, we can place a temporary block on payments to them.

You can also manage payments on your account via our App.