Upheld: Fraud reimbursement (APP scams) complaint against Payver Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr R opened a Payver account in January 2023 and received two incoming payments totalling €16,000 for digital services provided. Payver requested proof of entitlement, which Mr R provided via invoices. After receiving SEPA REFO requests from sending banks, Payver returned both payments to sender without conducting adequate due diligence or giving Mr R the opportunity to challenge. The ombudsman found that while Payver had legitimate regulatory concerns about account activity, it failed to establish the basis for the reclaim and did not follow proper procedures under SEPA scheme rules. Mr R subsequently provided additional evidence demonstrating his entitlement to the funds. The ombudsman upheld the complaint and ordered Payver to refund €16,000 plus interest.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

Although Payver was entitled to review the account due to regulatory obligations and unusual activity, it failed to conduct a sufficiently detailed proof of entitlement exercise before returning the funds. The SEPA scheme rules do not mandate automatic refunds without review and allow the beneficiary 15 days to challenge. Payver did not establish clear details of the reclaim basis, did not ask Mr R for further evidence when initial invoices were deemed insufficient, and did not give Mr R the opportunity to challenge within the SEPA timeframe. Mr R subsequently provided adequate evidence of his entitlement to the funds.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website