Not upheld: Fraud reimbursement (APP scams) complaint against Monzo Bank Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr H was scammed by a third party who promised to sell him football tickets for resale. Mr H sold several hundred tickets to fans and sent over £25,000 to the scammer between late February and early March 2025, but the tickets were never provided. Monzo rejected his reimbursement claim. The ombudsman found that while Mr H was a victim of an APP scam, his claim fell within the Reimbursement Rules exclusion for unlawful purposes because he unlawfully resold designated football tickets without authorisation. The ombudsman concluded that reimbursing Mr H would unfairly reward his unlawful conduct and restore him to a position he would not have been in had he not acted unlawfully, making it fair for Monzo to decline the claim despite the difficult circumstances Mr H faced.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that while Mr H was a victim of an APP scam, his claim fell within the Reimbursement Rules exclusion for payments made for unlawful purposes. Mr H unlawfully sold designated football tickets without authorisation, which is an offence under law. Although Mr H committed the unlawful act of selling tickets rather than making the payments themselves, his claim arose out of his unlawful conduct. Reimbursing Mr H would reward his unlawful conduct and restore him to a position he would not have been in had he not acted unlawfully, which would be unfair given that significant financial penalties exist in law for such conduct. Mr H's lack of knowledge that his actions were unlawful provided no defence.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website