Not upheld: scam/fraud - authorised push payment - refund claim complaint against Bank of Scotland plc

Decision detail

Summary

Miss K lost £350 to a scam when she paid for driving lessons advertised on social media to an account in Gibraltar. Bank of Scotland declined to refund her, citing that the Reimbursement Rules for authorised push payment scams do not apply to non-UK accounts. The ombudsman upheld Bank of Scotland's decision, finding that the Reimbursement Rules do not apply to payments sent outside the UK and that the payment amount was not unusually large or suspicious based on Miss K's transaction history, so the bank was not obligated to identify the risk or conduct additional checks.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The Reimbursement Rules only apply to payments made to UK accounts, and the payment here was sent to Gibraltar, so those rules do not apply. While firms should have systems to protect customers from fraud, the £350 payment was not unusually large and was consistent with Miss K's previous transaction patterns, so Bank of Scotland was not unreasonable in not identifying it as suspicious or carrying out additional checks. No grounds exist to require Bank of Scotland to refund the payment.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website