Not upheld: scam claim refusal; alleged Authorised Push Payment (APP) scam complaint against Nationwide Building Society

Decision detail

Summary

Mr N complained that Nationwide Building Society should reimburse approximately £18,000 he paid to company P between February and August 2024 for property investment and mortgage sourcing services arranged through individuals M and L, which he claimed was a scam. Nationwide declined the claim as a civil dispute. The ombudsman found that while Mr N may have a legitimate grievance against the third parties, the payments did not constitute an APP scam under the CRM Code because the evidence indicated Mr N believed he was paying for legitimate services, a mortgage offer was actually issued in his name, and the situation represented a breakdown in a commercial relationship rather than fraud from the outset. The ombudsman upheld Nationwide's decision not to reimburse, finding the firm had no obligation to do so and had not treated Mr N unfairly.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the Lending Standards Board's Contingent Reimbursement Model (CRM Code) definition of an APP scam, which requires either deception into transferring funds to a different person, or transfer for fraudulent purposes. The evidence showed that Mr N believed he was paying for legitimate property and mortgage sourcing services, a mortgage offer was actually issued in his name, and the interactions indicated a breakdown in the commercial relationship rather than fraud from inception. The ombudsman found this constituted a civil dispute over non-delivery of services rather than an APP scam, and therefore Nationwide was not obligated to reimburse under the CRM Code.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website