Not upheld: APP scam claim / refund denial complaint against Santander UK Plc

Decision detail

Summary

Miss L complained that Santander should refund funds she lost to an online casino (M) after a game crashed during play when she appeared close to winning bonuses. She claimed this constituted an Authorised Push Payment (APP) scam. Santander declined, classifying it as a private civil dispute. The ombudsman upheld Santander's decision, finding that Miss L had paid the intended recipient for the intended purpose (online gaming), the funds were successfully added to her account and used for gaming, and there was insufficient evidence of fraudulent or dishonest intent by M to meet the definition of an APP scam under the Reimbursement Rules. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the Faster Payments Scheme and CHAPS Reimbursement Rules definition of an APP scam, which requires fraudulent or dishonest conduct to manipulate or deceive a consumer into transferring funds where either the recipient is not who the consumer intended to pay or the payment is not for the intended purpose. The ombudsman found that Miss L paid M (the intended recipient) for the intended purpose (online gaming), and that the funds were successfully added to her account and used for gaming. While a technical issue occurred during gameplay, this did not constitute proof of fraudulent intent or criminal dishonesty by M. The ombudsman found no persuasive evidence that M acted deliberately to defraud Miss L or knowingly misled her about the payments.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website