Not upheld: fraud claim - alleged APP scam and irresponsible payment processing complaint against Barclays Bank UK PLC

Decision detail

Summary

Mr R complained that Barclays refused to refund money he lost when he made 15 payments to an individual G for concert tickets between July and August 2025, which were never received. Barclays declined the fraud claim, characterising it as a civil dispute. The ombudsman found that while Mr R did not receive the tickets, this did not constitute an APP scam under the Reimbursement Rules because G was the intended recipient and appeared to be a legitimate supplier who had previously provided football tickets successfully. The ombudsman concluded that Mr R failed to prove G intended to defraud him and that the case represented a civil dispute rather than criminal fraud, therefore Barclays was not liable for the loss.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that the payments went to the intended recipient (G) and that G appeared to be a legitimate supplier who had previously provided tickets successfully. While Mr R did not receive the concert tickets, this alone does not constitute an APP scam. The Reimbursement Rules specifically exclude civil disputes where a customer has paid a genuine supplier but not received goods or services. Mr R failed to provide evidence that G intended to defraud him from the outset. The ombudsman also found that Barclays was not obliged to intervene as the payments were not so unusual as to warrant concern, and even if a warning had been provided, it would likely have been ineffective given Mr R's prior positive experience with G.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website