Not upheld: scam reimbursement / APP scam claim complaint against Nationwide Building Society

Decision detail

Summary

Miss G claimed she was scammed when purchasing a second-hand car after paying a £5,000 deposit to a seller she met on social media, with the vehicle never being delivered. Nationwide declined reimbursement, characterising the matter as a private civil dispute rather than an Authorised Push Payment scam. The ombudsman upheld Nationwide's decision, finding that while Miss G's account was plausible, the available evidence—including the missing original advertisement, incomplete communications, and evidence from the receiving bank—was insufficient to establish on the balance of probabilities that she was the victim of an APP scam as defined by regulatory rules.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the civil standard of proof (balance of probabilities) to determine whether an APP scam had occurred. While Miss G's account was coherent and plausible, the available evidence was insufficient to establish fraud more probably than not. Key weaknesses included the inability to provide the original advertisement, incomplete WhatsApp communications that did not clearly link the payment to the car purchase, and evidence from the receiving bank that did not support Miss G's account. The ombudsman concluded the circumstances more properly represented a private civil dispute between Miss G and the purported seller rather than an APP scam meeting the regulatory definition.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website