Upheld: Incorrect CIFAS fraud marker lodgement - lack of clear evidence complaint against National Westminster Bank Public Limited Company

Decision detail

Summary

Mr A complained that NatWest incorrectly lodged a CIFAS fraud marker alleging he was a third-party facilitator, which impacted his ability to manage finances. NatWest based the marker on two fraud complaints about non-receipt of services, but Mr A's bank statements over three years showed legitimate sales of second-hand items matching the complaint amounts. Although Mr A failed to respond to NatWest's query about the disputed payments, NatWest provided no evidence demonstrating third-party facilitator fraud as required by CIFAS criteria. The ombudsman upheld the complaint and instructed NatWest to remove the marker, finding the evidence did not meet the required standard of being clear, relevant and rigorous.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that while NatWest received fraud complaints, the evidence showed buyer-seller disputes typical of social media transactions rather than clear evidence of third-party facilitator fraud. Bank statements corroborated Mr A's account of legitimate sales activity. Critically, NatWest failed to provide evidence linking the complaints to third-party facilitator activity as alleged in the marker. Although Mr A's failure to respond to NatWest's query was noted as unhelpful, this did not overcome the fundamental requirement that NatWest must have clear, relevant and rigorous evidence of identified fraud. The ombudsman concluded the CIFAS criteria for lodging a marker had not been met.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website