Not upheld: Fraud reimbursement (APP scams) complaint against HSBC UK Bank Plc
Financial Ombudsman decision DRN-6385965 of 2026-06-17T00:00:00+00:00. Fraud reimbursement (APP scams) complaint against HSBC UK Bank Plc. Outcome: Not upheld.
Decision detail
| Reference | DRN-6385965 |
|---|---|
| Decision date | 2026-06-17T00:00:00+00:00 |
| Firm | HSBC UK Bank Plc |
| Product | Current account |
| Claim type | Fraud reimbursement (APP scams) |
| Outcome | Not upheld |
| Remedy | None. The complaint was not upheld. |
Summary
O complained that HSBC refused to refund money lost to a romance scam. O's director had sent several payments to someone she believed she was in a romantic relationship with, but later discovered the scam. The money was transferred from the director's personal account to the business account and then to the scammer. The ombudsman found that O suffered no identifiable loss because the funds were the director's personal money used as a vessel to move money through the business account, not O's own funds. Therefore, HSBC was not required to provide a refund, and the complaint was not upheld.
The Ombudsman's reasoning
The ombudsman agreed with the investigator that O suffered no identifiable loss because the funds were the director's personal money, not O's funds. The business account was merely used as a conduit to transfer the director's personal money to the scammer. Since there was no loss suffered by O, HSBC could not fairly be directed to refund the disputed transactions. Additionally, the payments were not of a value that should have triggered HSBC's payment checking systems.
How this compares
| Group | Decisions | Uphold rate |
|---|---|---|
| HSBC UK Bank Plc, all decisions | 7,578 | 23% |
| Fraud reimbursement (APP scams), all decisions | 20,976 | 21% |
| Current account, all decisions | 52,014 | 19% |
Source
Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website