Not upheld: unauthorized account opening and disputed transactions complaint against Bank of Scotland plc, trading as Halifax

Decision detail

Summary

Ms L complained that Halifax opened a credit card account in her name without her authorization and that transactions on the account were fraudulent. Halifax refunded some disputed transactions but held Ms L liable for others, including a £2,500 balance transfer and a £660 solicitor payment. The ombudsman found that the account opening details matched Ms L's information, verification was completed via her mobile phone, and Ms L herself had called Halifax in April 2025 to report the card missing, all indicating her knowledge and authorization of the account. The complaint was not upheld and Halifax was not required to take further action.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the balance of probabilities test and found that the evidence strongly suggested Ms L opened the account and authorized the transactions. The use of her phone number for account opening, the receipt and confirmation of verification text messages from her mobile phone within two minutes, the crediting of the balance transfer to another account in her name, and critically, her own phone call to Halifax in April 2025 to report the card missing, all demonstrated her knowledge and authorization. The ombudsman rejected Ms L's assertion that she lacked capacity or informed consent, finding the evidence of her involvement conclusive.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website