Upheld: Wrongful CIFAS fraud marker lodgement complaint against Zopa Bank Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr A, aged 18, opened a Zopa account in July 2025 to sell concert tickets. After receiving a £140 payment that was immediately disputed by the sender, Zopa closed the account and lodged a CIFAS fraud marker against Mr A. Mr A complained that the marker was unjustified and would affect his future education financing. The ombudsman found that the evidence indicated a buyer-seller dispute rather than fraud, with Mr A's account corroborated by social media evidence and ticket intermediary confirmation. The ombudsman upheld the complaint, finding Zopa lacked the clear and rigorous evidence required by CIFAS criteria and had failed to give Mr A an opportunity to explain before lodging the marker. Zopa was instructed to remove the marker.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that while Zopa had concerns about the account, the evidence did not meet the CIFAS threshold of 'reasonable grounds to believe that an identified fraud or financial crime has been committed or attempted' with 'clear, relevant and rigorous' evidence. The complainant's story matched Mr A's account of ticket selling, and Mr A provided corroborating evidence of social media sales and ticket intermediary confirmation. The case appeared to be a buyer-seller dispute rather than fraud. Critically, Zopa failed to give Mr A an opportunity to explain before lodging the marker, which would likely have allowed him to provide the screenshots matching the timing of events.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website