Not upheld: scam/fraud claim - Authorised Push Payment (APP) - reimbursement refusal complaint against Barclays Bank UK PLC

Decision detail

Summary

Mr and Mrs G made investment payments totalling £25,000 to Company B in November and December 2019, later reporting them as a scam to Barclays in February 2024. Barclays declined reimbursement, classifying the matter as a civil dispute outside the scope of the CRM Code. The ombudsman upheld Barclays' decision, finding insufficient evidence that Company B intended to dishonestly deceive the customers about the purpose of the payments. Although Company B had received FCA restrictions and had a low trust score, these factors alone did not establish the fraudulent intent required to classify the transaction as a scam rather than a civil dispute. No compensation was awarded.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the CRM Code definition of an APP scam, requiring proof of both a misalignment between the customer's purpose and the firm's purpose, and dishonest deception by the firm. The ombudsman found insufficient evidence to establish that Company B intended to dishonestly deceive Mr and Mrs G. Key factors were: unclear details about what was invested in and what deception was alleged; FCA restrictions indicating civil issues but not criminal intent to deceive; and a low trust score being inconclusive on its own. The high threshold for establishing fraud on the balance of probabilities was not met.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website