Not upheld: Card / payment disputes complaint against HSBC UK Bank Plc

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs H complained to HSBC that her son had gained unauthorised access to her joint account and made two disputed transactions totalling £805 in July and August 2018 without her permission. The ombudsman reviewed evidence including handwritten notes, technical system capabilities, and WhatsApp messages, and found that Mrs H had not proven the transactions were unauthorised; rather, the evidence suggested she had provided her son with account access authority. Additionally, Mrs H did not report the transactions to HSBC until 2024, more than 13 months after they occurred, making the complaint time-barred under the Payment Services Regulations 2017. The complaint was not upheld and no refund or compensation was ordered.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Mrs H had not provided sufficient evidence on the balance of probabilities that her son made the transactions without her authority. The handwritten notes suggested the late Mr H set up online banking, not the son. The technical evidence showed the late Mr H's credentials could not have been used to access the account at the time of the transactions. The WhatsApp messages, sent years later in 2023, actually indicated Mrs H had provided her son with authority to access the account. Additionally, even if the transactions were unauthorised, they were reported more than 13 months after the debit date, making them time-barred under Regulation 74 of the Payment Services Regulations 2017.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website