Has anyone had this response from starling….
Thank you for submitting your dispute to us. My name is Augustine and I work in the Card Disputes Team at Starling.
The correct use of the MCC (Merchant Category Code) does helps Mastercard and other financial institutions classify transactions for reporting and monitoring purposes. However, MCCs are not always perfectly accurate because they rely on the merchant's self-reporting or the classification system used by their payment processor, which can sometimes lead to inconsistencies or errors in categorisation.
Unfortunately, there is no avenue provided by Mastercard to dispute the transactions based on the incorrect MCC.
Depositing funds into a merchant's gambling account does not guarantee a return on your investment, and as a result, Mastercard does not have any avenues for recovering these funds.
Any further use or non-use of the initial deposits is outside the scope of our dispute resolution process.
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If you do have further concerns, then we would suggest contacting the Gambling Commission regarding this merchant, you can get in touch with them here:
https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/contact-us
Additionally, we strongly advise caution when using online casinos, especially unlicensed or unregulated platforms. These sites may not provide consumer protection, and funds lost through gambling are generally non-refundable.
To safeguard your account, we recommend:
- Only using licensed and reputable gambling platforms.
- Keeping your account details secure to prevent un authorised transactions.
- Reviewing the terms and conditions of gambling sites before depositing funds."
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Taking everything into account, I have to set aside my natural feelings of empathy and look at this case impartially and fairly based on the evidence and Mastercard rules and regulations.
With that being considered I hope it offers insight in to our decision.
We appreciate that this is not the answer you were hoping for, but I hope this clarifies the bank’s position.
Augustine
Team Starling