Not upheld: Cifas marker registration and account closure following suspected fraud complaint against Metro Bank PLC

Decision detail

Summary

Mr M complained that Metro Bank unfairly registered a Cifas marker against him and closed his account after he received £1,000 that was subsequently reported as fraudulent by the sender. Mr M claimed the funds were an informal loan from a friend for a car deposit, but could not provide written evidence of this arrangement. The ombudsman found Metro had met the evidential threshold for the Cifas marker because the funds were demonstrably fraudulent and Mr M's account was implausible, particularly given his failure to respond to Metro's inquiries and lack of any written documentation. The ombudsman upheld Metro's decision to close the account in accordance with its terms and conditions and did not uphold the complaint.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the Cifas requirement that there must be 'clear, relevant and rigorous' evidence that a customer was aware funds were or might be from an illegitimate source. The ombudsman found Mr M's account implausible: that a friend would agree to loan money informally with nothing in writing, then report it as fraudulent, retrieve the funds, and attempt to return them to an employer. The ombudsman noted Mr M's lack of response to Metro's inquiries and his failure to retain any written evidence of the loan arrangement was unusual given the circumstances. The ombudsman concluded Metro had met the evidential threshold for the Cifas marker and acted fairly in closing the account.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website