Not upheld: Cifas fraud marker registration - alleged misuse of facility complaint against Monzo Bank Ltd

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs I complained that Monzo unfairly registered a Cifas 'Misuse of facility' marker against her following receipt of £300 in fraudulent funds and her subsequent transfer of £210 from her account. Monzo maintained the marker was justified based on evidence of complicity. The ombudsman found that while fraudulent funds did enter the account, Mrs I's inconsistent explanations—initially denying she sent the £210 to a third party then admitting she did, and the implausibility of receiving a 'family gift' from an unknown person—supported a reasonable inference of deliberate complicity. The ombudsman upheld Monzo's decision to register the marker as fair and proportionate.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the Cifas standard requiring reasonable grounds to believe fraudulent funds entered the account and evidence of deliberate complicity rather than unwitting involvement. While satisfied that fraudulent funds did enter the account, the ombudsman found Mrs I's explanations inconsistent and implausible: she initially denied sending the £210 to a third party then admitted sending it to a friend; the payment was labeled 'family gift' despite being from an unknown person; and she immediately forwarded funds received due to financial difficulty. The pattern of similar transactions on her account, combined with inability to provide supporting messages, led the ombudsman to conclude Monzo reasonably inferred deliberate complicity.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website