Disputing a Monzo charge is a one-myth process, and the myth sits before the merits of your case are ever judged: Section 75. It is the strongest UK purchase protection, and on a credit card it is exactly the right route — but it does not apply to a Monzo debit or prepaid card at all, because Section 75 covers credit, not debit. Waiting for a Section 75 claim that does not exist wastes the dispute window. This guide walks the filing steps in order, names the myth, states the clocks Monzo actually publishes (and the one figure it does not), and tells you what to do if the answer is no. Run your own case through the Monzo Dispute Navigator for a plan built from your answers.
First: the Section 75 myth-buster
Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 makes a credit provider jointly liable with the seller when something goes wrong with a purchase. The Financial Ombudsman Service states plainly that it does not apply to purchases paid wholly by debit card or bank transfer, and that a qualifying credit purchase must cost more than £100 but not more than £30,000. A Monzo debit card draws on money already in your current account; a Monzo prepaid card is topped up in advance. Neither is credit, so no Section 75 claim exists against Monzo for either card. What you do have is Monzo's Mastercard dispute (chargeback) route, plus your Consumer Rights Act rights against the seller itself. If a seller tells you to "claim Section 75" on a Monzo debit card, or stalls you while you try, that advice is wrong — and every week spent on it is a week off the dispute window. This guide covers Monzo debit and prepaid cards only; Monzo Flex is a separate credit product with its own terms and is out of scope here.
The filing steps, in order
Confirm which payment this is. Monzo's dispute flow covers card payments only — not bank transfers or direct debits. A direct debit taken wrongly is a Direct Debit Guarantee matter; a bank transfer you were tricked into sending is APP fraud under the Payment Systems Regulator's scheme (see the fraud section below), not a card dispute.
Contact the merchant first, in writing. Monzo's own dispute guidance says it is best to contact the merchant to see if they can reverse the disputed payment. A merchant refund is faster than any dispute, and your written message (or proof you tried) is evidence either way. Give a short deadline; do not let the merchant stall you past the network-norm window below.
Raise the dispute in the app, on the transaction. Tap the transaction, scroll to the bottom, tap "Something wrong? Get help", find the heading matching your situation, and tap "Dispute this transaction". Give as much information as possible — Monzo's own words — because it says it will do its best to get your money back based on the evidence you provide.
For a refund not received, check the 14-day precondition. Monzo cannot challenge the payment until you have proof the merchant promised a refund, 14 days have passed since that promise, and you give a full description of what happened. File the moment day 14 passes if the money still has not shown.
Wait for Monzo's timetable, and keep everything. Expect up to 8 weeks, or up to 12 weeks for a complex case, because the timescales are set by Mastercard. Keep every reference, message, and date until the case is closed. No provisional-credit schedule is stated here: Monzo publishes none that this build could quote.
The clocks Monzo does — and does not — publish
Monzo publishes a resolution timetable, not a filing deadline. Its dispute help says the process can take up to 8 weeks to resolve, and some complex cases may take up to 12 weeks, because the process is set by Mastercard — so Monzo cannot speed it up. No Monzo page this build could quote publishes a filing day-count, so this guide states none as a Monzo deadline. The about-120-day figure in the navigator is labelled everywhere as a card-scheme network norm, counted from the transaction (or, for goods never received, the expected delivery date): a reason to file early, never a Monzo-published deadline. Two narrower Monzo clocks are stated exactly as published: the 14-day refund-promise rule above, and the 7-day automatic return for a payment declined at the merchant's end but still showing on your account. Normal refunds, separately, usually take up to 7 working days to show after the merchant sends them, and hotel or car rental deposit refunds can take up to 30 days — so check the promise date and the transit time before disputing a "missing" refund.
Pending payments, declined payments, and fraud
A pending payment has not settled, so contact the merchant now and watch for it to settle; the dispute flow runs on the settled transaction. The exception is a payment declined at the merchant's end but still showing on your account: Monzo says it should be automatically returned within 7 days, and only after 7 days should you ask Monzo to help. Fraud is the exception to every waiting rule. Monzo's fraud help says to freeze the card in the app first, check the payment details, and — if you still do not recognise the payment — report it as potential fraud through the app. If you cannot use the app, Monzo Web lets you freeze the card and check payments, or you can call 0800 088 4040 from the UK (+44 20 3872 0620 from abroad) or email help@monzo.com. Two cautions from that same page: Monzo is explicit that problems with a bill, damaged goods, cancelled subscriptions and unfair treatment by a company are not fraud — a subscription you thought you cancelled technically is not fraud, though Monzo says it can still help through the dispute flow — and it warns that raising false fraud reports or sharing incorrect information could put an account at risk of closure, so check with anyone who shares the card first. Finally, the bank-transfer trap: if you were tricked into sending money by bank transfer to a fraudster, that is APP fraud, and card payments are expressly outside the Payment Systems Regulator's APP-fraud reimbursement scheme. That scheme covers UK Faster Payments and CHAPS transfers only: report as soon as possible and within 13 months, expect reimbursement within 5 business days of the claim (or within 35 business days where the firm stops the clock), up to £85,000, with an optional excess of up to £100. Those are scheme rules, not Monzo promises.
Evidence by issue type
Wrong amount or duplicate: the agreed price beside the transaction — the paper gap decides it; for a duplicate, both transactions plus the single receipt covering one purchase.
Not received: order confirmation with the promised delivery date, tracking showing non-delivery, and your written messages to the merchant.
Not as described or defective: a screenshot of the listing as it looked when you paid, photographs of what arrived, and every merchant message. Note the boundary: this is a dispute, not a fraud report.
Subscription kept billing: the cancellation confirmation (number, email, or screenshot) and the transactions showing payments after cancellation. If you cancelled by phone with no confirmation, send one written cancellation now.
Refund not received: the merchant's written refund promise with its date, proof that 14 days have passed since the promise, and account history showing the refund never arrived.
Fraud: the date you first noticed the payment and confirmation that no authorised user made it.
If Monzo says no
A refused dispute is not the end, but the next step is a complaint, not a second dispute on the same facts. Complain to Monzo through in-app chat, by phone (0800 088 4040 from the UK), or by email (help@monzo.com), and keep the complaint reference. The Financial Ombudsman Service's time limits are the ladder's rungs: a business has 15 days to consider complaints about payment services, fraud and scams or electronic money, and 8 weeks for most other complaints. If Monzo has not given you a final response within the applicable time, or you disagree with the final response you received, you can refer the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service — and you then have six months from the date of Monzo's final response letter to make that referral, counted in calendar months. The Ombudsman service is free. A complaint is a second, documented review of the same file, not a promised reversal — send it with the same dated paper trail, not a new version of the story. For the bank-transfer scam route, which this guide deliberately covers only as a distinction, see the UK bank-transfer scam reimbursement guide; for the credit-card route that does carry Section 75, see the chargeback vs Section 75 guide.
Run your own case through the navigator
Answer four questions — which Monzo card you paid with, what went wrong, whether the payment has posted, and whether you contacted the merchant — and get your in-app route, your network-norm window, and your next steps.
No. Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 covers credit purchases, and the Financial Ombudsman Service states it does not apply to purchases paid wholly by debit card or bank transfer. A Monzo debit or prepaid card is not credit, so the route is Monzo's Mastercard dispute flow, not a Section 75 claim.
In the Monzo app: tap the transaction, scroll to the bottom, tap "Something wrong? Get help", find the heading matching your situation, and tap "Dispute this transaction". Monzo says disputes apply to card payments only, not transfers or direct debits, and that you should contact the merchant first.
While a payment is pending it has not settled, so contact the merchant first and watch for it to settle. If a payment was declined at the merchant's end but still shows on your account, it should be automatically returned within 7 days. Fraud is the exception: freeze the card and report it at once, even while pending.
Complain to Monzo through in-app chat, phone, or email and keep the reference. A business has 15 days to consider payment-service, fraud and scam complaints and 8 weeks for most other complaints; if there is no final response in time, or you disagree with it, refer the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service within 6 months of the final response date.
Those guides cover how long each bank's dispute window runs. This guide covers how to file step by step with Monzo specifically: the in-app dispute flow, the Section 75 myth-buster for debit cards, the 14-day refund-promise rule, and the complaint-to-Ombudsman ladder — and links to the Monzo navigator for a plan built from your answers.
Verified November 4, 2026, from monzo.com, financial-ombudsman.org.uk, and psr.org.uk only: Monzo Help — "Disputing a transaction" (card payments only, not transfers or direct debits; wrong amount, not given what was paid for, refund not due; in-app flow: transaction → "Something wrong? Get help" → "Dispute this transaction"; refund-not-received precondition: proof of promise + 14 days waited + full description; resolution up to 8 weeks, complex cases up to 12 weeks, timescales set by Mastercard); Monzo Help — "Reporting fraud" (freeze the card in the app; subscription-cancelled is not fraud but Monzo can still help; bill problems, damaged goods, cancelled subscriptions and unfair treatment are not fraud; false fraud reports may put an account at risk; Monzo Web fallback; 0800 088 4040 from the UK, +44 20 3872 0620 from abroad, help@monzo.com); Monzo Help — "Card payment declined but I was charged" (automatic return within 7 days); Monzo Help — "Refund hasn't arrived" (refunds up to 7 working days to show; hotel/car rental deposit refunds up to 30 days); Monzo current account terms (card payments anywhere Mastercard is accepted, drawn on the current account). Financial Ombudsman Service — Section 75 myths (Section 75 does not apply to purchases paid wholly by debit card or bank transfer; cash price more than £100 but not more than £30,000) and time limits (15 days for payment-service, fraud and scam complaints; 8 weeks for most other complaints; 6 months from the final response to refer). Payment Systems Regulator — APP fraud reimbursement protections (in effect 7 October 2024; Faster Payments and CHAPS transfers only, card payments excluded; report within 13 months; reimbursement within 5 business days, 35 business days maximum; maximum claim £85,000; optional excess up to £100; sending and receiving firms split costs 50:50). No Monzo page publishes a chargeback filing day-count; the about-120-day figure is a card-scheme network norm, not a Monzo deadline. Your Monzo terms are the final word.
General information only — not legal advice. Statutes and network rules change; your cardholder agreement may differ. Verify deadlines with your issuer.
Chargeback Clock