Not upheld: Fraud reimbursement (APP scams) complaint against American Express Services Europe Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr N lost £28,500 to a romance scam after meeting an individual online, developing a romantic relationship, and being persuaded to send money via payment provider P between June and August 2024. He also sent funds from other banking providers. When he discovered the scam, Amex refused to refund the losses. The ombudsman found that while Amex should have intervened on later payments with a tailored written warning, such intervention would not have prevented the scam because Mr N had built a strong relationship with the scammer, met her in person, received apparent verification, and was emotionally invested in helping her. The complaint was not upheld as the ombudsman found Amex not responsible for the loss.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the legal starting position that customers are presumed liable for authorised payments. While acknowledging that Amex should have intervened on later payments with a tailored written warning, the ombudsman found the crucial issue was causation: whether such intervention would have prevented the loss. The ombudsman concluded that Mr N had built such a strong romantic relationship with the scammer, met her in person, received apparent verification through videos and photos, and was so emotionally invested that a written warning would not have uncovered the scam or stopped the payments. The fact that Mr N continued sending funds from other banking providers when his Amex account was blocked demonstrated his determination and ability to circumvent friction, further supporting that intervention would have been ineffective.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website