Upheld: Fraud reimbursement (APP scams) complaint against Tide Platform Limited

Decision detail

Summary

N complained that Tide Platform Limited refused to reimburse £15,805 in transactions made via Apple Pay after a director's phone was stolen in June 2025. Tide declined reimbursement citing lack of chargeback rights and claiming the transactions were authorised. The ombudsman found the transactions were unauthorised based on evidence including a police report of the theft, replacement phone purchase, and prompt reporting by the account holder. The ombudsman upheld the complaint and directed Tide to refund the full amount plus 8% simple interest, finding that the Payments Services Regulations 2017 require reimbursement of unauthorised transactions absent intentional breach or gross negligence by the account holder.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

Under the Payments Services Regulations 2017, payment service providers must refund unauthorised transactions unless the account holder intentionally or with gross negligence breached security obligations. The ombudsman found it more likely than not that the payments were unauthorised, as evidenced by the police report, replacement phone purchase, and prompt reporting. There was no evidence of intentional breach or gross negligence by Mr M, and no undue delay in reporting. The fact that chargeback rights do not apply to Apple Pay transactions does not override the regulatory requirement to refund unauthorised payments.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website