Not upheld: Cifas fraud marker registration; account closure complaint against Revolut Ltd

Decision detail

Summary

Mr O complained that Revolut Ltd unfairly registered a Cifas 'misuse of facility' marker on his account after it received a fraudulently reported payment of £740. Mr O claimed he had been deceived by a friend and offered to return the money, arguing this should prevent the marker being applied. Revolut maintained it had acted fairly in registering the marker. The ombudsman found that Revolut had met the requirements to register the marker, as Mr O had allowed his account to be used to receive money from an unknown third party and could not provide sufficient evidence of his entitlement to the funds. The complaint was not upheld and the marker was not to be removed.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

To register a 'misuse of facility' Cifas marker, Revolut must show reasonable grounds to believe fraud or financial crime occurred and provide clear, relevant and rigorous evidence. Mr O allowed his account to be used to receive money from an unknown third party that was later reported as fraudulent. Although Mr O claims he was deceived by a friend and offered to return the money, he provided insufficient evidence to substantiate his entitlement to the funds or the legitimacy of the arrangement. The ombudsman made no finding on Mr O's involvement in the fraud itself, only that Revolut correctly registered the marker based on the available evidence.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website