Not upheld: unauthorized transactions / fraud claim complaint against Monzo Bank Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Miss H complained that Monzo Bank held her responsible for approximately £3,061 in unauthorized gambling payments made between 25 November and 7 December 2025, which she attributed to her ex-partner who knew her phone PIN. Monzo refused to refund the transactions and closed her account, offering £100 compensation for delays in handling her fraud claim. The Ombudsman found that Miss H had logged into her linked Nationwide account multiple times during the disputed period and received transfers from that account to fund the Monzo payments, suggesting she was monitoring her accounts and would have noticed the activity. Based on the balance of probabilities, the Ombudsman concluded Miss H more likely than not authorized the payments or permitted access to her account, and therefore did not uphold the complaint despite acknowledging her vulnerabilities.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The Ombudsman applied the balance of probabilities test to determine whether Miss H authorized the transactions. Key to the decision was evidence that Miss H had logged into her Nationwide account multiple times during the period of disputed payments and that credits were transferred from Nationwide to Monzo during this same period. The Ombudsman found it implausible that Miss H would not have noticed these debits and credits on her Nationwide account, particularly given that she had raised a dispute with Nationwide on 21 November 2025 and was therefore actively monitoring that account. Additionally, the absence of any biometric changes on the Nationwide account suggested that if the ex-partner had accessed the Monzo account, they would have needed to change biometrics on the Nationwide account as well to transfer funds, which did not occur. The Ombudsman concluded that Miss H more likely than not authorized the payments or permitted access to her account.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website