Not upheld: scam claim and refund request complaint against NATIONAL WESTMINSTER BANK PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY

Decision detail

Summary

Ms T paid £250 as a deposit for a kitten in July 2025 but the sale was not completed and the seller did not return the deposit. Ms T reported this to NatWest as a scam, but NatWest rejected the claim as a civil dispute. The ombudsman applied the Payment Systems Regulator's Reimbursement Rules and found that both parties intended the payment to be for a kitten purchase, the seller appeared to be a legitimate licensed breeder, and the dispute about the kitten's quality was a private civil matter excluded from the scam definition. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the Payment Systems Regulator's Reimbursement Rules definition of APP scam, which requires that either the recipient was not who the consumer intended to pay or the payment was not for the purpose intended. The ombudsman found that both Ms T and the seller intended the payment to be for the purchase of a kitten, and that the seller appeared to be a legitimate business based on licensing, lack of other scam reports, and account conduct. The dispute about the kitten's quality constitutes a private civil dispute specifically excluded from the Reimbursement Rules definition, as the consumer received goods but disputes their quality or suitability.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website