Not upheld: scam/fraud - refund of losses and handling of fraud report complaint against Revolut Ltd

Decision detail

Summary

Miss C fell victim to an employment scam in May 2025, making nine push-to-card payments totalling £2,480.45 to fraudsters posing as a legitimate platform. After discovering the fraud, she reported it to Revolut and requested a refund, which Revolut declined. Additionally, when Revolut notified receiving banks about the fraudulent payments, some of those banks froze Miss C's accounts, including legitimate accounts in her own name, causing her significant financial hardship. The ombudsman found that Revolut was not obligated to refund the losses as the individual payment amounts were modest and consistent with normal account activity, and Revolut had taken proportionate steps by issuing warnings on two transactions. The ombudsman also found Revolut not responsible for the account freezes, as it had acted reasonably on information Miss C herself provided in her fraud report.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied the legal principle that customers are presumed liable for authorised payments under the Payment Services Regulations 2017. However, good industry practice requires firms to monitor for unusual transactions and intervene where fraud risk is apparent. The ombudsman found that the individual payment amounts were modest and did not represent a significant departure from Miss C's normal account activity. While the cumulative loss was substantial, it would not be proportionate for Revolut to query all similar transactions given the volume processed daily. Revolut's issuance of warnings on two payments was a proportionate response. Regarding the account freezes, Revolut acted reasonably on the information Miss C herself provided when reporting the fraud, and subsequently corrected the position with the receiving banks.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website