Not upheld: scam - disputed authorisation and refund of payments complaint against Santander UK Plc

Decision detail

Summary

Mr and Mrs M complained that Santander failed to refund £3,271.45 in debit card payments made to an EMI after Mrs M fell victim to a scam. A scammer posing as an online retailer convinced Mrs M to download a remote access app, claiming to protect her account, then made two payments while on the phone with her. Mrs M reported the fraud when she discovered the pending transactions, but Santander refused to refund them. The ombudsman found the payments were authorised by Mrs M through Santander's app using biometric authentication on her registered iPhone, with clear app screens requiring explicit payment confirmation. The ombudsman concluded Santander had no obligation to refund the payments or intervene to prevent them, as the transaction values and patterns were not suspicious. The complaint was not upheld, though Santander's £200 compensation for communication issues was deemed fair.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman concluded that the payments were authorised because: (1) they were authenticated using biometrics on Mrs M's registered device which remained in her possession; (2) the app screens clearly displayed payment amounts and required explicit selection of 'authorise card payment'; (3) remote control operation of an iPhone is generally not possible due to Apple's security restrictions; and (4) the technical evidence on balance of probabilities showed Mrs M's involvement. The ombudsman further found Santander had no duty to intervene as the payment values and patterns were not suspicious enough to warrant fraud prevention action, and there was no mechanism to recall debit card payments or dispute them through chargeback given they were authorised.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website