Not upheld: scam classification and reimbursement liability for authorised international bank transfers complaint against Wise Payments Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr C complained that Wise incorrectly handled transactions he reported as scam-related. He had made two bank transfers to an international merchant for goods that were lost in transit and received only a partial refund. Mr C argued he was induced by insurance assurances and that Wise should have classified this as a scam and reimbursed him. The ombudsman found that the circumstances constituted a civil dispute arising from a genuine commercial transaction with a legitimate business, not a scam. As the payments were authorised bank transfers to an overseas recipient, no reimbursement protections apply, and Wise had no recovery mechanisms available. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman concluded that the circumstances constituted a civil dispute arising from a genuine commercial transaction with a legitimate business, not a scam. Although Mr C claimed he was induced by insurance assurances, a subsequent dispute about whether those arrangements were properly honoured does not constitute fraud or a scam. As the payments were authorised bank transfers to an overseas recipient, no specific reimbursement protections apply, and once completed, no recovery mechanisms exist. Wise acted fairly in its categorisation and was not required to reimburse the loss.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website