Not upheld: Fraud reimbursement (APP scams) complaint against Revolut Ltd

Decision detail

Summary

Ms B complained that Revolut Ltd failed to refund £8,056 in transactions made after she fell victim to an impersonation scam on 16 December 2025. Scammers posing as her bank and police tricked her into handing over her Revolut debit card and PIN. The ombudsman found that although Ms B was the victim of a cruel and sophisticated scam, she intentionally failed to keep her security credentials safe by sharing them with a third party, which breaches the Payment Services Regulations 2017. The ombudsman concluded that Revolut was not liable for the transactions and that its fraud prevention measures were proportionate. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

Under the PSRs, consumers are responsible for authorized payments unless they have breached their obligations to keep security credentials secure either intentionally or through gross negligence. Although Ms B was the victim of a convincing scam, she intentionally handed over her card and PIN to a third party, which constitutes an intentional failure to keep her security details safe. The ombudsman found that Revolut's intervention on the transactions was proportionate and that there were no grounds for chargebacks or recovery of the cash withdrawals. The APP scam reimbursement rules do not apply as these transactions were made using a card rather than a transfer.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website