Partially upheld: Fraud reimbursement (APP scams) complaint against HSBC UK Bank Plc

Decision detail

Summary

Ms D reported fraudulent payments on 25 October 2025, but HSBC failed to cancel her card or properly action the dispute. Ms D had to contact HSBC again on 9 November 2025 to get the card cancelled and payments reimbursed. HSBC initially offered £30 compensation, which the Investigator increased to £50. Ms D believed this was insufficient given the service failures and communication issues she experienced. The Ombudsman upheld the complaint in principle but found the impact of HSBC's errors was relatively minor, as no further fraud occurred and the payments were ultimately reimbursed, making £50 a fair settlement.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The Ombudsman agreed that HSBC failed to properly action the fraud report and cancel the card when initially reported, causing Ms D to spend additional time contacting HSBC. However, the Ombudsman considered the impact of these errors to be relatively minor because the disputed payments were reimbursed, no further fraud occurred, and Ms D was able to cancel her card when she contacted HSBC on 9 November 2025. The Ombudsman rejected making an award based on hypothetical risks that did not materialise. A modest compensation award of £50 was deemed appropriate to put right the impact of the errors without making a punitive award.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website