Not upheld: scam/fraud - alleged failure to protect customer and prevent loss complaint against Santander UK Plc

Decision detail

Summary

Mr V complained that Santander failed to protect him from a scam involving an alleged investment opportunity with company C, claiming the bank should have noticed suspicious payment activity and intervened. Between November 2021 and March 2025, Mr V made six payments totalling £16,854.76 to his own cryptocurrency wallet, which he claims he then used to purchase cryptocurrency sent to C. Santander declined to refund the payments as they were made to Mr V's own account. The ombudsman found the complaint not upheld because Mr V could not provide sufficient evidence establishing a clear link between the payments from Santander and any payments to C, or demonstrating that a scam had occurred, particularly given that he had deleted all relevant correspondence and documentation.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that while Mr V may have had some involvement with company C, there was insufficient evidence to establish on the balance of probabilities that the disputed payments from his Santander account were actually sent to C or that he suffered a loss due to a scam. The key issue was the lack of a clear evidential link between the payments made from Santander to Mr V's cryptocurrency wallet and any subsequent payments to C. Although testimony can be valuable evidence, the ombudsman noted that Mr V had deleted all correspondence and provided no documentation showing account details, investment information, payment instructions, or confirmation that cryptocurrency was sent to C. The cryptocurrency wallet records only showed transfers to unidentified wallets, not to C or related entities.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website