Not upheld: CIFAS fraud marker registration complaint against TSB Bank plc

Decision detail

Summary

Mr O complained that TSB unfairly loaded a CIFAS fraud marker against his account in February 2023 after fraudulent funds entered it. Mr O later claimed his card had been lost and used by an unknown third party without his knowledge. The ombudsman reviewed whether TSB met the CIFAS standard requiring reasonable grounds to believe fraud occurred with clear, relevant and rigorous evidence. Finding that Mr O's explanation lacked supporting evidence, that he failed to respond to TSB's initial inquiry or report his lost card, and that the account activity pattern was inconsistent with his claims, the ombudsman concluded TSB had sufficient grounds to load the marker and did not uphold the complaint.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the CIFAS standard requiring reasonable grounds to believe fraud occurred, with clear, relevant and rigorous evidence such that the matter could be reported to police. The ombudsman found that Mr O's explanation (that a housemate or unknown third party used the account without permission) was not persuasive given: his failure to respond to TSB's initial inquiry, his failure to report the lost card, his lack of evidence to support his claims, the presence of a second registered device accessing the account regularly, his failure to contact TSB about account concerns, his swift movement of funds to another account, and the inconsistency and unclearness of his testimony. The ombudsman concluded the evidence exceeded mere suspicion and demonstrated reasonable grounds for the marker.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website