Not upheld: Fraud reimbursement (APP scams) complaint against Santander UK Plc

Decision detail

Summary

Ms M, representing her late father Mr M's estate, complained that Santander held the estate liable for unauthorised transactions made between January 2022 and March 2023 while Mr M was in a care home. Ms M alleged a third party fraudulently accessed Mr M's cards and made the transactions. Santander refused to refund the transactions, arguing Mr M may have consented to them. The ombudsman upheld Santander's position, finding the transactions were authenticated with genuine card and PIN, and that the spending pattern and substantial remaining balance suggested Mr M had likely authorised someone else to make the transactions rather than fraud occurring.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman applied a two-limb test for authorisation: authentication and consent. While Mr M was unlikely to have made the transactions himself due to his care home residence, the ombudsman found no credible explanation for how an unauthorised third party could have obtained access to both debit cards and PINs. The spending pattern and substantial remaining account balance were inconsistent with fraud. Therefore, the ombudsman concluded it was more likely the transactions were made by someone to whom Mr M had given consent, making them authorised.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website