Not upheld: Fraud reimbursement (APP scams) complaint against Monzo Bank Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr B complained that Monzo refused to refund £3,300 in transactions he claimed were made by thieves who stole his phone after a violent robbery on 8 January 2026. Mr B maintained he reported the theft to police and contacted Monzo to report the fraud. Monzo held Mr B liable and closed his account immediately. The ombudsman found the transactions were authenticated using Mr B's digital token and, based on confidential evidence including account statements showing deliberate fund movements before the transactions, concluded it was incredibly unlikely they were made without Mr B's knowledge or consent. The ombudsman also found the account closure complied with the terms and conditions. The complaint was not upheld and no remedy was ordered.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that while the payments were authenticated using Mr B's digital token, the key question was whether Mr B consented to the transactions. Although Mr B consistently maintained he was a victim of robbery, the ombudsman weighed his testimony against confidential evidence from Monzo's fraud investigation, including account statements showing deliberate fund movements just before the disputed transactions, which suggested planning and awareness on Mr B's part. The ombudsman concluded it was incredibly unlikely the transactions were made without Mr B's knowledge or consent. Regarding account closure, the ombudsman found Monzo applied its terms fairly in closing the account immediately, as the terms permitted this in certain scenarios.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website