Not upheld: scam / authorised payment liability complaint against ClearBank Limited (trading as Tide)

Decision detail

Summary

N, a limited company represented by director Mr G, complained that Tide only refunded half of £4,000 lost to a scam where Mr G was deceived into authorising a payment via a fraudulent call. The scammers claimed to be from Tide and instructed Mr G to approve the payment to stop other transactions. Tide refunded £2,000 and agreed to pay simple interest at 8% per annum. The ombudsman found the complaint not upheld, determining that while Tide could have intervened, N also failed to verify the caller's identity and ignored the in-app scam warning, making shared liability fair and reasonable.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

While Tide had a responsibility to keep N's account safe and arguably should have intervened given the payment's size and new payee, N also bore responsibility for account security. Mr G received a call from a withheld number without substantial verification of the caller's identity, ignored the in-app warning about this type of scam, and proceeded with authorisation. The payment was properly authenticated and authorised under Payment Services Regulations, making N liable in the first instance. By the time Mr G reported the scam, the card payment had already settled and could not be stopped. Liability should be shared between both parties. Tide's 50% refund plus simple interest is fair compensation.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website