Not upheld: account closure and transaction reversal without explanation complaint against Skrill Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Ms M complained that Skrill Limited unfairly closed her account and reversed a $250 cryptocurrency transaction without providing a reason or opportunity to respond. Skrill, as a regulated UK financial service provider, relied on its regulatory obligations and contractual terms to justify the account closure and transaction reversal. The ombudsman reviewed confidential evidence provided by Skrill and concluded that the firm acted fairly and within its contractual rights in both closing the account and reversing the transaction. Although Ms M was not given an opportunity to dispute the decision at the time, the ombudsman found that Skrill was entitled to take these actions based on the information available and was not required to provide detailed reasons. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Skrill's regulatory obligations and terms and conditions permitted account closure and fund reversal in certain circumstances. The ombudsman was satisfied that based on confidential evidence reviewed, the closure was fair and proportionate. Although Ms M was not given an opportunity to dispute the decision or provide her version of events at the time, the ombudsman concluded that Skrill was entitled to take the decision with the information it had, and that even with Ms M's subsequent evidence, the reversal would still have been fair and reasonable. The ombudsman noted that Skrill is not required to provide reasons for such decisions.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website