Not upheld: scam refusal and insufficient evidence complaint against HSBC UK Bank Plc

Decision detail

Summary

Mr H complained that HSBC refused to refund money he lost to an investment scam. Between 2015 and 2020, Mr H made multiple payments to an individual representing what appeared to be a genuine investment company, but later discovered he could not withdraw funds or access the platform. The ombudsman considered only payments made from 25 May 2019 onwards due to jurisdiction limitations. Although Mr H provided call logs and screenshots, the ombudsman found this evidence insufficient to establish that a scam occurred and that the disputed payments resulted in a loss. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Mr H bore the responsibility to provide appropriate evidence supporting his version of events and the losses incurred. Despite multiple requests from the Investigator, Mr H failed to provide sufficient evidence demonstrating that a scam had occurred and that the disputed payments resulted in a loss. Without being able to paint a full picture of what happened or trace the final destination of the disputed payments, the ombudsman could not be confident that a scam occurred and therefore could not ask HSBC to refund the payments.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website