Not upheld: authorised push payment (APP) scam claim / fraud complaint against Barclays Bank UK PLC

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs M paid a travel agency B £2,780.06 in instalments between May and December 2025 for flights for herself and her daughter. After her final payment, B provided documentation confirming the booking but never issued boarding passes. When Mrs M contacted the airline, she discovered that while a reservation existed in her name, no payment had been received from B and no ticket had been issued. B subsequently entered liquidation in January 2026. Mrs M claimed this was an authorised push payment (APP) scam and requested reimbursement from Barclays. The ombudsman rejected the claim, finding that although B failed to deliver the contracted goods, there was no evidence of fraudulent intent from the outset. The case was treated as a private civil dispute rather than fraud, placing it outside the scope of the Faster Payments Scheme Reimbursement Rules.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the FPS Reimbursement Rules definition of an APP scam, which requires fraudulent or dishonest conduct to manipulate or deceive a consumer. While B failed to deliver the contracted goods, the ombudsman found no evidence that B intended to defraud Mrs M from the outset. The fact that B made a reservation with the airline indicated an intention to deliver the goods. B's financial difficulties appear to have prevented completion of the booking rather than fraudulent intent. The case was therefore classified as a private civil dispute rather than a scam, placing it outside the scope of the FPS Reimbursement Rules.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website