Not upheld: scam/fraud claim - refund request complaint against Barclays Bank UK Plc

Decision detail

Summary

Mr I complained that Barclays Bank UK Plc should refund money he lost to an alleged property investment scam between September 2021 and January 2024. The disputed payments, ranging from £16.90 to £2,000, were made to a money services business facilitating international transfers, and Mr I authorised all transactions. The ombudsman found that while Mr I's account typically involved low-value transactions, he had made similar or greater payments during the same period, and transfers to the international payment service had become a regular pattern with consistent references (medical, family support, maintenance). The ombudsman concluded that the payments would not have appeared suspicious or unusual to Barclays and therefore the bank had no obligation to intervene. Additionally, the ombudsman noted insufficient evidence was provided to establish the transactions were actually part of a scam. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the Payment Service Regulations 2017, which presume the customer liable for authorised payments unless the bank should fairly and reasonably have done more to protect them. The ombudsman found that the individual payment values were not unusual for Mr I's account, the payments to W became a regular pattern consistent with legitimate international transfers, and the references used were consistent with lawful purposes. Therefore, the payments would not have appeared suspicious or out of character to Barclays, and the bank had no obligation to intervene. Additionally, the ombudsman noted insufficient evidence was provided to establish the transactions were actually part of a scam.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website