Not upheld: unauthorised transactions complaint against The Royal Bank of Scotland Public Limited Company (RBS)

Decision detail

Summary

Mr M opened an RBS account in November 2024 and later discovered an outstanding overdraft of £3,250 from 17 disputed transactions. He claimed these were unauthorised and demanded a refund. The ombudsman reviewed evidence showing that Mr M's account application included his personal details, identity documents, and a registered phone number, and that all disputed transactions were completed from the same device used to open the account and verified via OTP. Finding no evidence of unauthorised access or third-party involvement, the ombudsman concluded the transactions were authorised by Mr M and upheld RBS's refusal to refund them.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that the application form was completed by Mr M himself, as evidenced by his personal details, correct address, and identity verification documents. The disputed transactions were all made from the same device used to open the account and were verified via OTP to the phone number listed on that application. There was no evidence of unauthorised access or that someone else could have made these transactions without Mr M's knowledge and consent. Therefore, the transactions were likely authorised by Mr M.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website