Upheld: Fraud reimbursement (APP scams) complaint against NewDay Ltd trading as John Lewis Financial Services Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mr F discovered unauthorised transactions on his credit card after returning from abroad. NewDay refunded the fraudulent transactions but provided inconsistent explanations, initially claiming the card had been added to Google Pay without Mr F's knowledge. Mr F complained that NewDay failed to identify how his card details were compromised and should have prevented the transactions. The ombudsman upheld the complaint but found NewDay's refund of the unauthorised transactions complied with regulations and that NewDay was not obliged to investigate the fraud's root cause or provide detailed information about IP addresses and merchant details. The ombudsman upheld the complaint solely on the basis of NewDay's admitted failure to provide a promised callback, finding the £50 compensation already offered to be fair and reasonable.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

Under the Payment Services Regulations 2017, NewDay's obligation was to refund unauthorised transactions, which it did. The ombudsman found NewDay was not required to investigate how the fraud occurred or provide detailed information about the IP address and merchant details, as these did not relate to Mr F's actions. While NewDay initially provided incorrect information about Google Pay, this was corrected and did not delay the refund. The ombudsman held NewDay responsible only for its admitted failure to provide a promised callback, not for the fraudulent transactions themselves or the distress caused by being a fraud victim.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website