Not upheld: scam and fraud - recipient bank liability complaint against J.P. Morgan Europe Limited trading as Chase

Decision detail

Summary

Mr J transferred £5,000 to a friend Ms D's Chase account as a loan in November 2023. Ms D later claimed she was a scam victim and could not repay. Mr J complained to Chase, alleging he was tricked into sending the money and that Chase failed in relation to the recipient account. The ombudsman found Chase had properly verified Ms D's identity, the transaction was not suspicious in context of existing activity, and Chase had no obligation to intervene. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that even if Ms D intended to scam Mr J, Chase had no failures that were causal to the loss. The account holder's identity was verified, there was nothing suspicious about the transaction in context of existing activity, and Chase was not required to intervene in what appeared to be a legitimate payment. Even if Chase should have closed the account, Mr J would likely have paid an alternative account controlled by Ms D.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website