Not upheld: scam / fraud - refund claim complaint against Wise Payments Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr F, a retiree, lost £19,675.33 to what he believed was an investment scam operated by Company C and Person J. He made 11 payments from his Wise account between July and August 2024 to Companies P and P/SG after being promised investment returns and seeing apparent growth in his account. When he attempted further withdrawals in December 2024, he became suspicious and demanded his money back. Mr F complained to Wise seeking a full refund plus compensation, claiming they failed to recognise his vulnerability and intervene despite red flags. The ombudsman found that while Mr F may have been scammed, there was insufficient evidence to establish that the specific payments from Wise were part of that scam, as the payment trail showed funds went to legitimate gold and silver merchants and Mr F could not provide a full payment trail linking the funds to the fraudulent company. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

Although the ombudsman did not disbelieve Mr F was a victim of a scam by Company C and Person J, there was insufficient evidence to establish that the specific payments from the Wise account were part of that scam. The payment trail showed funds went to legitimate gold and silver merchants rather than to the scammers. The call recordings provided did not mention the payments or the merchant companies. Critically, Mr F failed to provide a full payment trail linking the funds to the fraudulent company despite multiple requests. Without establishing that the payments related to the described scam, the ombudsman could not fairly direct Wise to refund the transactions. The high legal threshold and burden of proof for fraud could not be met.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website