Not upheld: Fraud reimbursement (APP scams) complaint against Metro Bank PLC

Decision detail

Summary

Mr P complained that Metro Bank PLC failed to prevent him from losing approximately £50,000 to an authorised push payment scam involving a fake remote job opportunity. The scam involved Mr P being initially able to withdraw small amounts before being required to deposit increasingly larger sums. When other financial institutions intervened, Mr P deliberately misled them about the nature of the payments, claiming he was investing in cryptocurrency rather than completing online tasks. The ombudsman found that while Metro should have intervened, particularly on the £7,600 payment on 13 March 2025, no intervention would have prevented the scam because Mr P was under the scammer's influence and had demonstrated a willingness to deliberately deceive banks. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

Although Metro should have intervened, the ombudsman found that no intervention would have prevented the scam because Mr P was under significant influence from the scammer and had demonstrated a willingness to deliberately mislead financial institutions. The scam chat records showed Mr P's trust in the scammer increased as the scam progressed, and he followed the scammer's guidance on how to respond to bank interventions. When another bank warned him about investment scams, the warning did not dissuade him because it was not the exact scam he was falling victim to. The ombudsman concluded that Mr P would have responded to any Metro intervention as he had with other banks, and if Metro had blocked his account, he would likely have used another account to continue making payments.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website