Not upheld: Cifas marker registration for misuse of facility / alleged financial crime complaint against Monzo Bank Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr L complained to the FOS about Monzo registering a Cifas marker for misuse of facility following £80 in transactions credited to his account in August 2025. Mr L provided three different explanations for the transactions: funeral expenses from a family member, shared bank details with a friend in need, and involvement in a Telegram job scam. The ombudsman found Mr L's testimony lacked credibility due to multiple contradictions, undated and fragmented supporting messages, and bank statements suggesting he benefited from the payments. Applying Cifas criteria, the ombudsman concluded Mr L was dishonest and complicit in receiving illegitimate payments, knowing or ought to have known they were fraudulent. The complaint was not upheld and Monzo was found to have acted fairly in registering the marker.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the Cifas criteria requiring reasonable grounds to believe fraud occurred and clear, rigorous evidence that the consumer was deliberately dishonest and knew or ought to have known the payment was illegitimate. The ombudsman found Mr L's credibility severely undermined by three separate changes to his testimony. The undated and fragmented messages, combined with dated messages that pre-dated the transactions and contradicted his account, further supported the conclusion that Mr L was dishonest and complicit in receiving illegitimate payments. The explanation that the sender could not pay directly to the intended recipient lacked credibility.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website