Not upheld: unauthorized transactions / fraud claim complaint against TSB

Decision detail

Summary

Ms C complained to TSB after £1,350 in transactions appeared on her account that she claimed she did not authorize. She initially reported them as fraudulent, but later revealed she had been coerced into making the payments by an intruder. TSB refused to refund her, citing lack of fraud evidence and noting the inconsistency in her account. The ombudsman upheld TSB's decision, finding that Ms C had authorized the transactions and was therefore liable under the Payment Services Regulations 2017, despite the serious circumstances she faced. While acknowledging TSB could have made additional checks, the ombudsman was not satisfied the payments appeared suspicious or that intervention would have prevented them.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

Under the Payment Services Regulations 2017, the starting point is that Ms C is liable for payments she authorized, even if they occurred under duress. While TSB should have been alert to potential fraud and could have made additional checks or provided a warning, the ombudsman was not satisfied that TSB ought to have found the payments suspicious based on account statements. Even if TSB had intervened with a warning, the ombudsman was not persuaded this would have prevented Ms C from making the payments or that TSB could have recovered them given the merchant involved.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website