Not upheld: fraud marker reporting and refusal to remove marker complaint against Bank of Scotland plc trading as Halifax

Decision detail

Summary

Ms K complained that Halifax recorded a Cifas fraud marker against her for 'false documentation' in connection with a mortgage application that was subsequently withdrawn, and refused to remove it. Halifax had identified that some of Ms K's tax documents appeared to have been altered from their original HMRC forms and could not independently verify her stated income. The Ombudsman found that Halifax had clear, relevant and rigorous evidence meeting the Cifas standard for recording a fraud marker and that it was fair and reasonable to do so. The Ombudsman rejected Ms K's request for removal of the marker, noting that she failed to provide supporting documentation when asked and did not obtain records from HMRC to challenge the marker. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The Ombudsman applied the Cifas standard requiring clear, relevant and rigorous evidence to support a reasonable suspicion of fraud. Halifax demonstrated that some tax documents appeared to have been altered from their original HMRC forms and could not verify Ms K's stated income through independent enquiries. This constituted clear, relevant and rigorous evidence that an application relying on false information had been made. The Ombudsman found it was fair and reasonable for Halifax to record the marker. Regarding removal, the Ombudsman noted that Ms K failed to provide supporting documentation when requested and chose not to obtain records from HMRC, making it difficult to fairly conclude the marker should be removed.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website