Not upheld: scam and fraud - failure to prevent loss complaint against Santander UK Plc

Decision detail

Summary

Miss R complained that Santander failed to prevent her loss when she fell victim to an investment scam after taking out a £9,000 loan and sending it along with £4,200 of her own savings to scammers via her own bank account. Santander declined her claim and held her liable for the loan. The ombudsman did not uphold the complaint, finding that Santander did not cause the loss, had no reason to suspect the scam at the time of lending, and could not reasonably have prevented it even with intervention, as Miss R continued payments despite other bank intervention and police involvement. The ombudsman recommended Santander treat Miss R with empathy and work toward a sustainable repayment arrangement, but declined to order any refund or loan write-off.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

The ombudsman found that Santander did not cause Miss R's loss, as the scammers were responsible for the fraud. Santander provided credit in good faith and Miss R entered into the loan agreement voluntarily. There was no evidence Santander knew or should have known about the scam at the time of lending. The ombudsman noted that even reasonable intervention would not have prevented the loss, as Miss R continued payments despite other bank intervention and police involvement. Since funds were transferred to Miss R's own account, no reimbursement scheme applied, and Santander could only be required to refund if its actions or omissions caused the loss, which was not established.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website