Not upheld: scam loss refund / authorised payment liability complaint against Monzo Bank Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Miss C, while unemployed and looking for work, fell victim to a scam offering fake remote employment. She made international payments and bank transfers totalling over £1,300 to scammers who promised higher commissions. After realising the scam, she reported it to Monzo Bank Limited and requested a refund. Monzo attempted recovery but found no funds remaining and offered £50 compensation for complaint handling delays. The ombudsman found that Miss C authorised the payments and was primarily liable under Payment Services Regulations, that the spending pattern was not sufficiently suspicious to require intervention, and that the international payments fell outside UK protection schemes. The complaint was not upheld, and the £50 compensation offer was deemed fair.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

Although Miss C authorised the payments and did not intend for money to reach scammers, under Payment Services Regulations she is liable for authorised payments in the first instance. The spending pattern was not sufficiently suspicious to require Monzo to intervene. Even if Monzo had intervened with proportionate questioning, Miss C would likely have proceeded as she was being coached by scammers on how to answer such questions. The international payments were not covered by UK schemes like the CRM Code or PSR's latest rules. By the time Miss C reported the scam, funds had likely already been moved. The scammers, not Monzo, were primarily responsible for the loss and resulting distress.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website