Not upheld: alleged scam / non-receipt of goods / refund claim complaint against Nationwide Building Society

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs P paid £3,160 to L for event tickets between October 2024 and February 2025 via four Faster Payments. She received tickets for one purchase but not for three others. L, who appeared to work for organisation W, died by suicide in July/August 2025 before delivering the remaining tickets. Mrs P complained to Nationwide claiming she had been the victim of a scam and requested a refund. Nationwide declined, stating it was a civil dispute. The ombudsman upheld Nationwide's decision, finding that the situation constitutes a private civil dispute rather than an APP scam under the Faster Payment Scheme Reimbursement Rules, as the evidence does not establish that L intended to defraud Mrs P from the outset. Bank transfers do not provide protection against breach of contract by suppliers, and Nationwide cannot be held responsible for the loss.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the Faster Payment Scheme Reimbursement Rules which define an APP scam as involving fraudulent or dishonest manipulation to deceive a consumer into transferring funds where the recipient is not who they intended or the payment is not for the intended purpose. The Rules specifically exclude private civil disputes. Mrs P paid L, who was the intended recipient, for the intended purpose of buying tickets. Although L failed to deliver tickets for three transactions, this constitutes a breach of contract by a legitimate supplier rather than evidence of intent to commit fraud from the outset. The evidence does not establish that L intended to steal Mrs P's money from the outset; L may have entered the agreement in good faith and been unable to fulfil it. Bank transfers provide limited consumer protection compared to card payments or credit, and do not protect against breach of contract by suppliers. Nationwide did not contract with Mrs P for the tickets and therefore cannot be held responsible for L's failure to deliver.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website