Not upheld: scam reimbursement / APP scam classification complaint against Wise Payments Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr K, as director of company K, sought reimbursement from Wise for £2,211 paid for discounted airline tickets that he could not use. Mr K attended the airport twice but was unable to travel due to the ticket being a standby ticket rather than confirmed, and the flight being full. Wise declined to reimburse the payments, classifying the matter as a private civil dispute rather than an APP scam. The FOS upheld Wise's decision, finding that although Mr K was not informed the ticket was standby, the evidence showed both parties intended the payment to purchase a discounted flight ticket, and the seller's conduct (correcting Mr K's name without requesting more money) was inconsistent with fraudulent intent. The ombudsman concluded the circumstances did not meet the definition of an APP scam under the Reimbursement Rules.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the Reimbursement Rules definition of an APP scam, which requires either that the recipient was not who the consumer intended to pay, or the payment was not for the purpose the consumer intended, and that this resulted from fraud or dishonesty. The ombudsman found that Mr K paid the intended recipient (the person arranging the ticket), and both parties' broad purpose was to purchase a discounted flight ticket. Although Mr K was not informed the ticket was standby rather than confirmed, the evidence (including screenshots showing 'Premium Standby' classification and the seller's willingness to correct Mr K's name without additional payment) suggested the seller did not intend to fundamentally deceive Mr K about the purpose of the payment. The ombudsman concluded this was a civil dispute rather than an APP scam, and that the payments did not appear unusual enough to trigger Wise's fraud prevention obligations.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website