Not upheld: fraud claim - authorised push payment (APP) scam complaint against Bank of Scotland plc trading as Halifax

Decision detail

Summary

Mr P complained that Halifax should reimburse £4,190 in payments made to a tradesperson F for driveway and garden work, claiming he was the victim of a scam involving emotional manipulation and false assurances. F requested multiple advance payments citing personal reasons (son's birthday, van repairs, funeral) and failed to complete the work to standard by the agreed deadline. The ombudsman applied the PSR Reimbursement Rules for APP scams and found that although F's business practices were poor, the payments were not made as a result of fraud or dishonesty about their purpose. Both parties understood the payments were for building work, and F did carry out substantial work. The ombudsman concluded this was a private civil dispute regarding service quality, not an APP scam, and therefore did not uphold the complaint.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the PSR Reimbursement Rules definition of an APP scam, which requires that either the recipient is not who the consumer intended to pay, or the payment is not for the purpose intended. The ombudsman found that Mr P paid the party he intended to pay (F) and that both parties understood the payments were for building work. Although F modified the payment schedule and provided reasons unrelated to the work (son's birthday, van repairs, funeral), these were advances on amounts agreed for the work, and each payment reduced the outstanding balance. The ombudsman concluded that F's poor business practices, delays, and failure to complete work to standard did not constitute fraudulent or dishonest intent to deceive about the purpose of payments. The dispute was therefore a private civil matter regarding service quality, not an APP scam.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website