Not upheld: Fraud reimbursement (APP scams) complaint against Brown Shipley & Co Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr T complained that Brown Shipley & Co Limited failed to refund money he lost to a scam after sending several payments from June 2023 to what he believed was a legitimate investment. The ombudsman found that while Brown Shipley & Co Limited should have implemented a proportionate intervention (calling Mr T and providing a warning based on the payment value), such intervention would not have prevented the scam. Mr T had already demonstrated a pattern of providing inaccurate answers to questioning from multiple banks and had ignored multiple warnings from those banks, suggesting he would have sought advice from the scammer and provided a convincing false explanation to any further questioning. The complaint was not upheld, and no recovery was possible as the payments were made to accounts in Mr T's own name.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

While the ombudsman found that Brown Shipley & Co Limited should have intervened with a call and warning based on the payment value, the key issue was whether such intervention would have prevented the scam. The ombudsman concluded it would not have, because Mr T had already demonstrated a pattern of providing inaccurate answers to multiple banks' questions and had ignored multiple warnings. The ombudsman reasoned that Mr T would likely have consulted the scammer for advice and provided a convincing false explanation to the investment manager, similar to his behaviour with other financial institutions. Additionally, no recovery would be possible as the payment was made to other accounts in Mr T's own name.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website