Not upheld: Cifas marker registration and account closure complaint against Monzo Bank Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs D complained that Monzo Bank Limited had unfairly loaded a Cifas marker against her and failed to return her funds after closing her account. In February 2025, Mrs D received two payments totalling £3,500 from someone she claimed was a friend, but Monzo received fraud reports relating to these payments and closed her account. When initially asked for evidence, Mrs D stated the funds were from a friend but provided no supporting documentation. Mrs D later provided messages, emails, and screenshots claiming to prove the payments were legitimate, but the ombudsman found these unconvincing because the contact details did not match Monzo's records and Monzo could not verify the sender's identity. The ombudsman upheld Monzo's decision to retain the Cifas marker and not uphold the complaint.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the Cifas evidential standard, which requires reasonable grounds to believe fraud or financial crime has been committed and clear, relevant, and rigorous evidence. The ombudsman found that Monzo had received fraud reports relating to the payments and that Mrs D had not provided convincing evidence to rebut this. The ombudsman found Mrs D's subsequent evidence unconvincing because the contact details (phone number and email address) did not match Monzo's records for her friend, Monzo could not verify the sender's identity, and there was no evidence the sender had withdrawn the fraud claim. The ombudsman concluded that Monzo had met the required standard to retain the Cifas marker.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website