Not upheld: fraud and scams - job scam; service complaint complaint against Santander UK Plc

Decision detail

Summary

Mr A lost £568 to a sophisticated job scam after being recruited online and required to make cryptocurrency payments to continue earning. He sought a refund from Santander, who rejected the claim as authorised card payments were not covered under fraud/scam codes. Mr A also complained about service issues including lengthy phone calls, an insensitive agent comment, and unclear communication about a disclaimer form. Santander offered £30 compensation for the service complaint but refused the refund. The ombudsman upheld Santander's position, finding that the individual payment amounts were low, cryptocurrency transactions are common and legal, the exchanges were legitimate, and there was no pattern warranting intervention. The £30 payment for service issues was deemed appropriate.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the Payment Services Regulations 2017 and Consumer Duty principles. While banks must protect customers from fraud where reasonably possible, they must balance intervention against inconveniencing legitimate transactions. The three payments were individually and collectively low amounts, cryptocurrency transactions are common and legal, the crypto exchanges were legitimate, payment amounts were not unusual compared to Mr A's history, there was no concerning pattern of rapid escalating payments, and the attempted blocked payments were appropriately handled to verify card security. The APP Scam Reimbursement Rules do not apply as payments were by card to another account. Chargebacks were not available as services were provided. Regarding service, the distress was caused by the scammer not Santander, though the £30 payment for insensitive wording and form uncertainty was appropriate.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website