Partially upheld: unauthorized transactions / account security complaint against Monzo Bank Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Miss K complained that Monzo Bank held her responsible for payments made from her account without her authorization. Miss K claimed she received a fraudulent call from someone posing as Monzo, shared an OTP code, but did not share her PIN or complete any recovery process. However, Monzo's technical evidence showed a new device was added to her account and the payments were authorized through the app, with video evidence indicating the PIN recovery process was completed. The ombudsman found Miss K more likely than not authorized the payments or permitted a third party to do so, and therefore upheld the complaint only in part, ordering £50 compensation for Monzo's incorrect statement about auto refund.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that the technical evidence demonstrated the payments could only have been authorized if Miss K's PIN was entered and the PIN recovery process was completed. Since Miss K claimed she did not share her PIN, email password, or complete the PIN recovery steps, but the evidence showed these actions were taken, the ombudsman concluded Miss K more likely than not authorized the payments herself or permitted a third party to do so on her behalf. The ombudsman was not persuaded by Miss K's version of events given the technical requirements for authorization.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website