Not upheld: scam - authorised push payment (APP) fraud complaint against Santander UK Plc

Decision detail

Summary

Mr and Mrs B were victims of a police impersonation scam in April-May 2025 and made five gold purchases totalling £236,550 from their Santander accounts, believing they were assisting a police investigation. Santander intervened on several occasions, temporarily stopping payments and conducting security conversations with Mr and Mrs B about fraud risks. During these calls, Mr and Mrs B provided misleading information about the purpose of payments and denied being pressured or asked to hide the real reason for the transactions. The ombudsman found that Santander took proportionate protective action and that Mr and Mrs B's misleading responses prevented the firm from identifying the scam. The complaint was not upheld as the payments were authorised and Santander could not reasonably have prevented the loss.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the legal starting position that firms must process authorised payments. Although Mr and Mrs B did not intend for money to reach scammers, they authorised the payments and received the gold purchased. The PSR Reimbursement Rules do not apply as payments were made to a legitimate jeweller and goods were received. Santander took proportionate protective action by intervening, temporarily stopping payments, and conducting security conversations. When questioned, Mr and Mrs B provided misleading information about the purpose of payments and denied being pressured or asked to hide the real reason, which would have prevented Santander from identifying the scam. The ombudsman found that even if Santander had asked further questions, Mr and Mrs B would likely have continued providing inaccurate information, and blocking the payments would not have prevented the loss as Mr and Mrs B demonstrated persistence in attempting payments through alternative channels.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website